Kiernan Shipka has been cast as the lead in the upcoming psychological thriller Hyena.
She plays Genevieve, who brings her enigmatic new boyfriend Alexei (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) home to meet her seemingly idyllic family. As Alexei works his way deeper into the household, he exposes long-buried secrets, desires, and hypocrisies.
Genevieve becomes “the only one left willing to see him clearly,” and saving what’s left of her family “demands an unspeakable sacrifice,” according to the synopsis.
Shipka is a rising scream queen whose horror credits include lead roles in The Blackcoat’s Daughter, The Silence, and Totally Killer, plus a supporting role in Longlegs.
Hyena is one of the last films David Lynch executive-produced before his death in January 2025. Director Scott Coffey (who played Wilkins in Mulholland Drive) was a Lynch mentee, and Lynch helped develop the project early on.
Coffey has described the film as being about “the moment grief and love turn feral, when we stop pretending we aren’t wild.”
Shipka and Woon-A-Tai replace the previously announced leads Havana Rose Liu and Archie Madekwe. Filming is planned for Spokane, Washington, in early 2027. No release date has been announced.
