Bill Murray Replaced by Steve Carell in Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City Due to Covid Diagnosis

Despite being originally announced as one of the cast members of Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, long-standing Anderson collaborator Bill Murray was strangely absent from the list of stars on board the movie earlier this week. According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter, the reason for Murray’s absence is down to the actor contracting Covid-19 days before shooting on the movie began last September, leading to Steve Carell taking his place in the film.

Asteroid City once again brings together many actors who have previously worked with the director on his ten movies. As his 11th feature film, Anderson’s film “tells the story of a fictional American desert town circa 1955 and its Junior Stargazer convention that brings together students and parents from across the country for scholarly competition, rest and recreation, comedy, drama, romance, and more.” With Anderson’s movies having previously picked up any number of awards, the director will once again likely find himself and his cast vying for attention at the Academy Awards and Golden Globes next year.

The movie’s cast features an almighty ensemble of famous faces, of which Murray was originally one. The list of those appearing now includes Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Ed Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Tony Revolori, Sophia Lillis, Ethan Lee, Jeff Goldblum, Rita Wilson and more. While there is no release date currently known for the movie, is now well into post-production and will potentially be released later this year.

Related: Bill Murray’s Best Moments in Wes Anderson Movies

Recent Misconduct Accusations Were Made Against Bill Murray

Having been as much of a part of Wes Anderson’s movies as the director himself, the absence of Murray from the official cast list released by Focus Features did not go unnoticed, and following accusations of misconduct on the set of his movie Being Mortal earlier this year, it was speculated whether the veteran actor had been cut from his role in Asteroid City. Following the news of the alleged misconduct, which brought filming on Being Mortal to a halt, Murray said in a statement:

“I did something I thought was funny, and it wasn’t taken that way. As of now we are talking and we are trying to make peace with each other. We are both professionals; we like each others’ work, we like each other, I think, and if we can’t really get along and trust each other, there’s no point in going further working together or making the movie as well. It’s been quite an education for me. What would make me happiest [is if we] go back into work and…trust each other and work at the work that we’ve both spent a lot of time developing the skill of. I think it’s a sad dog that can’t learn anymore. That’s a really sad puppy that can’t learn anymore. I don’t want to be that sad dog and I have no intention of it.”