Paul Mescal being booked and busy means that Barry Keoghan is also booked and busy

Paul Mescal has passed the baton to fellow 2023 Oscar nominee Barry Keoghan in the upcoming Irish drama Bring Them Down. Christopher Abbott is also stepping in for The Souvenir actor Tom Burke, who was previously attached to the project.

Directed by Chris Andrews, the Mubi production also co-stars Colm Meaney, Nora-Jane Noone, Paul Ready, and Susan Lynch. Per The Hollywood Reporter, which also has a first look at Keoghan and Abbott in costume, plot details are as follows:

The film follows Michael (Abbott), the last son of a shepherding family, who lives with his ailing father Ray (Meaney). Burdened by a terrible secret, Michael has isolated himself from the world. When a conflict with rival farmer Gary (Ready) and his son Jack (Keoghan) escalates, Michael is drawn into a devastating chain of events, forcing him to confront the horrors of his past and leaving both families permanently altered.

Besides the whole Oscar campaigning thing, Mescal has been performing in a London production of A Streetcar Named Desire, which is moving into a larger West End theater next month. After that, the Aftersun star will begin shooting Gladiator 2 with Ridley Scott.

Even before his Oscar nomination for The Banshees Of Inisherin, Keoghan has been on a hot streak since his 2017 appearances in The Killing Of A Sacred Deer and Dunkirk. He’s worked for both DC and Marvel in The Batman and Eternals, as well as being seen in projects including The Green Knight, Chernobyl, and MoviePass’ American Animals. The actor’s passion project about Billy the Kid is also about to get off the ground.

After his breakout role on Girls, Abbott has appeared in indie projects like It Comes At Night, Vox Lux, and Black Bear, though he’ll soon be seen in Sony’s Marvel villain movie Kraven The Hunter opposite Aaron Taylor-Johnson. He also has Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things coming up.

Mubi’s own productions have previously included the Phillip Roth adaptation Deception starring Léa Seydoux, Birds Of Prey director Cathy Yan’s debut Dead Pigs, and the legal documentary Free Chol Sol Lee. Most recently, Alcarràs was Spain’s submission to the Academy Awards.