Last month we told you that writer, producer, and actor Aziz Ansari – whose resume includes Master Of None and Parks And Recreation – had set his directorial debut at Searchlight, with Bill Murray signed on to star opposite him. And now Deadline reports that Seth Rogen, most recently seen in Disney+’s Pam & Tommy, has joined the cast too. Plus, the title of the film has been confirmed as well – Being Mortal.
The film, written by Ansari, is an adaptation of Atul Gawande’s award-winning non-fiction book Being Mortal: Medicine & What Matters In The End, which sensitively explores the ways in which serious illness, old age, and death itself can be managed through a focus on quality of life over quantity of days left living. The plot and character details of the movie are being kept under wraps, but we do know that it’s headed down the comedy-drama route, so chances are high that the source material here is acting more as an inspiration than a direct guide for Ansari’s work.
Death and dying aren’t exactly subject matters that scream comedy gold, but shows like The Good Place and After Life most recently have shown us that even the reaper can’t get in the way of a good joke. And if anyone can make us laugh when confronted with our own mortality, surely it’s the triple-comedy-threat of Ansari, Rogen, and Murray.