Oscar Isaac and Ana de Armas are set to collaborate on an upcoming Apple TV+ series, tentatively titled Bananas. Per Deadline, the streamer recently secured the “high-profile drama” for development, and it has Carolina Paiz, popular for the acclaimed Orange is the New Black and Narcos, as creator and production company Fifth Season attached. Furthermore, Issac and De Armas will executive produce, with Oscar nominee David O. Russell reportedly hired as director as well as executive producer.
Since it’s in its early stages, the premise for Bananas is yet to be revealed; however, reports speculate that the working title refers to so-called banana republics, a term used to describe politically and economically unstable countries in regions like Central America. In addition to creating the series, Paiz is writing and executive producing, while Isaac will executive produce via MadGene Media alongside Gena Konstantinakos.
How Well Do You Know The ‘Bananas’ Team?
Bananas will mark Isaac's first TV project in almost two years after his involvement in Marvel’s Moon Knight, which he led as the title superhero and executive produced. Before then, he starred alongside Jessica Chastain in Scenes from a Marriage, which earned him an Emmy nomination. As for movies, the award-winning actor recently finished production on Julian Schnabel’s Hand of Dante, based on the novel of the same name by Nick Tosches and co-starring Jason Momoa. He will next be seen on the big screen in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, in which he plays the titular Doctor Frankenstein, set for release in 2025.
Unlike Isaac, Bananas will mark De Armas’ English-language series debut though, she has a stellar record of featuring in other non-English series, such as the popular drama El Internado in which she starred for six seasons from 2007 to 2010. In movies, the reputable actress was last seen in Ron Howard's survival thriller Eden, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. She will next be seen as the lead star in Lionsgate’s John Wick spin-off Ballerina, set to hit theaters on June 6, 2025.
Lastly, Russell, a five-time Oscar nominee, is set to direct the Amazon MGM Studios film Madden starring Nicolas Cage. Fans may remember the icon as the one director whom George Clooney has sworn off working with after he turned physical amid a confrontation between the duo. Bear in mind that Russell and Clooney worked together in 1999's Three Kings, which was plagued with a number of issues, one major one being the director’s poor treatment of people during production. Because of this, Clooney stood up to Russell, who was being too rough with an extra, and which led the two to come to blows. It's just one of several controversial stories associated with David O. Russell.
No release date has been announced yet for Bananas, but do stay tuned to Collider for further updates. In the meantime, stream Three Kings on Pluto TV.
Release Date September 27, 1999
Director David O. Russell
Runtime 114 minutes
Writers John Ridley , David O. Russell
English (US) ·