#Odessa Young Has Stepped In To Replace Riley Keough In ‘Masculinity Cult’ Thriller Manodrome

“Manodrome” is a project that wasn’t on my radar until hearing this news, but Eisenberg’s involvement and the log line of “an Uber driver and aspiring bodybuilder who is inducted into a libertarian masculinity cult” makes it sound quite similar in nature to “The Art of Self-Defense.” That was the 2019 film, co-starring Imogen Poots and written and directed by Riley Keough, where Eisenberg starred as a bullied guy who enters the dojo to learn karate from a toxic sensei, played by Alessandro Nivola (“The Many Saints of Newark.”) The phrase “masculinity cult” also brings to mind David Fincher’s “Fight Club,” which may well have been an inspiration.

Eisenberg just made his directorial debut at the Sundance Film Festival this week with “When You Finish Saving the World,” but he’s still keeping one foot in the world of acting even as he moves into the director’s chair. As for Adrien Brody, he’s kept busy with his own Stephen King TV adaptation, “Chapelwaite,” on Epix. He also guest-starred in season 3 of HBO’s “Succession,” and he’s set to play NBA coach Pat Riley in “Winning Time,” McKay’s upcoming HBO Max series about the rise of the L.A. Lakers basketball dynasty.

We’ll keep you posted on “Manodrome” as production continues.