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Swinging for the Fences: Darren Aronofsky Teams with Austin Butler in 2025 film Caught Stealing

Looking for a baseball thriller to add to your watchlist? Look no further than Caught Stealing, a film in production with Sony Pictures for a 2025 release.


The film will be directed by Darren Aronofsky, the director of Oscar-winning The Whale and thriller classic Black Swan (2010) starring Natalie Portman. The picture will be distributed with Sony Pictures. The film is based on a novel by Charlie Huston with the same name. Austin Butler, Dune: Part Two (2024) and Elvis (2022) star, recently committed to the lead role of Hank Thompson in Caught Stealing


“I am excited to be teaming up with my old friends at Sony Pictures to bring Charlie’s adrenaline-soaked roller coaster ride to life," said Ocsar-nominated director Aronofsky to Variety, “I can’t wait to start working with Austin and my family of NYC filmmakers.”


Darren Aronofsky on the set of Black Swan, framing a shot.

Darren Aronofsky on the set of Black Swan, framing a shot. / Courtesy of the Hollywood Reporter.


Aronofsky’s films often follow characters with destructive obsessions, and he tells these stories using distinctive techniques such as fast-paced mortgages, SnorriCams (cameras rigged to the body of an actor), and unflinching violence. The plot of Caught Stealing fits right into that archetype. Caught Stealing is based on a novel of the same name following a protagonist named Hank Thompson. Thompson used to play California baseball until moving to the Lower East Side where he works as a bartender. Google Books describes the inciting incident, “But it isn't until two Russians in tracksuits drag Hank over the bar at the joint where he works and beat him to a pulp that he starts to get the idea: Someone wants something from him. He just doesn't know what it is, where it is, or how to make them understand he doesn't have it.” As Thompson falls into the criminal underworld, he learns to use his “old aluminum bat” for more than hitting baseballs. 


So far, many stars have announced their involvement in the film. Zoë Kravitz, who recently made her directorial debut with Blink Twice (2024), has taken an unnamed role in the film. Like Aronofsky, Kravitz is known for her roles in action and thriller films—making her a perfect fit for the Caught Stealing story. 


On August 27, Bad Bunny joined the cast. Though Bad Bunny is primarily a musician, he’s taken on small roles in the past. His first was a four-episode run as Arturo “Kitty” Páez in Narcos: Mexico. Like Aronofsky, Bad Bunny has also worked with Sony Pictures in the past; he took a role in Brad Pitt’s Bullet Train (2022) where he played an assassin named Wolf. 


On September 9, Emmy nominee Vincent D’Onofrio joined the cast to support Butler. D’onofrio is no stranger to crime thrillers; he played Kingpin in Marvel’s Daredevil and reprised his role in the new Marvel show Echo.



Bad Bunny (left), Zoë Kravitz, and Austin Butler (right), the stars of the Aronofsky picture.

Bad Bunny (left), Zoë Kravitz, and Austin Butler (right), the stars of the Aronofsky picture. / Courtesy of  Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images; Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images.


Indie Wire reported that this isn’t the first time the novel attempted a film adaptation. In 2013, a rendition of Caught Stealing starring Patrick Wilson in Butler’s role never got off the ground. There is little public information on the production of Aronofsky’s film, but Caught Stealing is anticipated to have a 2025 release at the earliest. 



Austin Butler on set of "Caught Stealing."

Austin Butler on set of "Caught Stealing." / Courtesy of Getty Images


Edited by Brooke Weinrich

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