EXCLUSIVE: Camila Mendes (Riverdale) has signed on to star opposite Rudy Mancuso in the film Música, which he is directing for Amazon Studios and Wonderland Sound and Vision.
The Prime Video title going into production this summer is billed as a fresh spin on the rom-com. It follows a young man (Mancuso), plagued by the music in his head, who has to come to terms with an uncertain future while balancing love, family and Brazilian culture in Newark, New Jersey. It’s the latest romance to come from Wonderland, on the heels of its success with titles including Love Hard, Holidate and Tall Girl. (The sequel to the latter became Wonderland’s seventh in a row to reach #1 on Netflix upon its release in February.)
Mancuso wrote the script with American Vandal‘s Dan Lagana, and will also compose the film’s original score and soundtrack. McG and Mary Viola will produce via their Wonderland Sound and Vision banner, with Shots Studios’ John and Sam Shahidi exec producing alongside Lagana, Wonderland’s Steven Bello, and Mendes.
“I’m beyond excited to have the wildly gifted mind of Camila join this special journey of Música,” said Mancuso, “where we’re telling an authentic Brazilian-American story through the eyes of a synesthete.”
“We are thrilled to team up with Cami, both in front of the camera and behind it,” added Viola. “Not only is she one of the most talented actresses of her generation, she also brings an authenticity to the project with her cultural knowledge of Brazil.”
Mendes is a Brazilian American actress best known for her role as Veronica Lodge on The CW’s series Riverdale, which was recently renewed for a seventh season. She will next star opposite Maya Hawke in the Netflix film Strangers, from director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson and producer Anthony Bregman, having also been seen in Max Barbakow’s critically acclaimed film Palm Springs, among others.
Wonderland Sound and Vision recently wrapped production on the Netflix film Uglies, starring Joey King, which McG directed. Projects in development at the company include the comedy series Bad Habit, written by Annie Mumolo and Emily Goldwyn; the rom-com The Tradition for Netflix; Mystery Girl, directed by McG and starring Tiffany Haddish; the BET+ show Average Joe, which received a script-to-series order in February; and the ABC pilot for Not Dead Yet, based on the 2020 novel Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up.
Mendes is represented by CAA, Luber Roklin Entertainment, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Wonderland by WME.
