Rebel Wilson Announces Directorial Debut at Cannes Film Festival

Rebel Wilson has taken the spotlight of the Cannes Film Festival to announce her first project as a director.

Rebel Wilson is set to direct her first feature, The Deb, a musical set in Australia “that brings the bush into the city.” The Deb was written by Hannah Reilly and Meg Washington based on a stage show that Wilson championed when it premiered at Sydney’s Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) in 2022. Wilson revealed that she also will co-star in the film and told us that two songs not used in the stage production will be featured in the film.

The film will be shooting on locations in Sydney and rural New South Wales starting in September, The Deb will be produced in partnership with Rebel Wilson’s Camp Sugar Productions (Senior Year, The Hustle) and award-winning Australian producer Bunya Productions (The Drover’s Wife, Mystery Road). Danny Cohen executive produces on behalf of Access Entertainment. 

Rebel Wilson first listened to The Deb’s score three years ago, before it was staged at the ATYP’s Rebel Theatre — named in her honor. ”I said then that I think this is a film, and after we premiered it last year I said, ”We’ve got to make this into a movie.’ Not all projects in Australia have universal appeal, but this one does.”

The Deb, Rebel Wilson explained, tells the tale of two young women from different cultures. One’s from the bush and the other’s a cynical city girl. Both are searching for self-acceptance — and a date to the Deb.