Alas, the "Election" reunion between Alexander Payne and Reese Witherspoon is not to be. While the actress came on board the filmmaker’s social sci-fi satire "Downsizing" well over a year ago, a lot can happen in that time, and indeed, Witherspoon just can’t carve out the space in her calender for the movie. Instead, the picture will function as a different kind of reunion.
Deadline reports that Kristen Wiig has replaced Witherspoon in a leading role, and it will mark her second film with Matt Damon (though probably the first that will allow them some significant screen time together). Christoph Waltz, Alec Baldwin, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Sudeikis, and Hong Chau round out the cast of this one which follows an Omaha man in the not-too-distant future where humans are now able to shrink themselves to 1/8 their size as a means to battle over-consumption and the rapid depletion of earth’s natural resources. He decides to undergo the process himself, and joins others who have done the same.
Production on the movie starts this spring, with a release set for Christmas Day 2017. Why such a long wait? This one is going to require a lot of post-production visual effects work to get across the finish line.