Sacha Baron Cohen & Keke Palmer to Star in David O. Russell's 'Super Toys'

by Darian Scalamoni

    Keke Palmer made her presence felt in Hollywood following her starring role in Jordan Peele's latest film Nope back in 2022. Now, the actress has been sought after for many roles including leading her own action-comedy film for Amazon titled Moxie which we reported back in December. Now, Palmer has her next project in sights with an Oscar-nominated writer/director and an interesting co-star.

    According to a report from Deadline, Palmer (Nope, Hustlers) will team with Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, The Trial of the Chicago 7) to star in Super Toys which will be written and directed by David O. Russell (The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook). Palmer and Cohen play "groovy" toy sale reps in the 1970s who embark on a life and death mission to save their lives, marriage and 12-year-old child amongst middle America. The film is currently being sent to buyers amongst the European Film Market where producers look to get distributors attached so they can move forward with the project. The EFM will run simultaneously to the Berlin Film Festival which is set to begin next week.

    Palmer is coming off her fantastic performance in Nope but also is expecting her first child! She announced her pregnancy while hosting Saturday Night Live for the first time in her career back in December. The actress added to her packed year in 2022 with voice roles in Pixar's Lightyear, Disney+ series The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder and Netflix's Human Resources. Next, Palmer will star in Sister Act 3: Kicking the Habit due out in 2024 and will appear as one of the leads in Aziz Ansari's directorial debut, Being Mortal. 

    Cohen is best known for playing his controversial but hilarious Borat character for which across the two films he earned two Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay. He also received his first acting nomination for Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7 in 2021. Cohen recently played in the Pixar sandbox as well, voicing Uncle Ugo in Luca. He's rumored to be making an appearance in the Marvel Disney+ series Ironheart later this year where many have been speculating that he'll be playing the demon known as Mephisto. Cohen will also appear in Alfonso Cuaron's upcoming AppleTV+ series Disclaimer opposite Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline.