‘Irma Vep’ Poster Peels Away Alicia Vikander’s Layers of Life and Art

Aside from releasing an intense trailer for the upcoming limited series Irma Vep, which premieres next week, HBO also unveiled its poster. Much like the project itself, the art is purposefully confusing and illustrates the mess of art imitating life, as well as the blurred lines between the two realities. In the story, Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander plays Mira, a Hollywood superstar who’s bored with blockbusters. She decides to go to France in order to play a challenging role: Irma Vep, the title character in a remake of the classic French film Les Vampires.

The poster for Irma Vep is all about Vikander’s character Mira being torn apart by the intense filming experience. Her image is cleverly peeled out like a roll of film and the series’ characters populate her body and mind. Of course, series-within-the-series director René Vidal (Vincent Macaigne) is the one who takes over Mira’s mind. As the trailer and teaser revealed, Mira and René will push each other’s limits as they try to bring the series to life – or, as the director sees it, “the movie in eight parts.”

Also teased by the poster is the blurring of the lines underscored by the tagline “life imitates art.” In the story, Mira will embody her character Irma Vep in such a way that she’ll start losing her grasp on reality and question what’s real and what is acting. The project itself is metalinguistic by design: Director Olivier Assayas (Personal Shopper) is remaking his 1996 film Irma Vep, which starred Maggie Cheung. The confusion between reality and art is on-brand for the filmmaker, who is known for dissecting those themes across his career.

RELATED: New ‘Irma Vep’ Trailer Teases a Wild Metalinguistic Journey for Alicia Vikander

Both the new trailer and the poster are still mum on Twilight star and Academy Award nominee Kristen Stewart’s participation in the series, which is reportedly a small role. The actor’s absence may suggest that her part is indeed a small cameo, or maybe something bigger that HBO is hiding in order to tease fans. Stewart previously worked with Assayas on the cult film Clouds of Sils Maria, which earned her the César Award for Best Supporting Actress – making her the first American to win the prize.

Irma Vep also stars Adria Arjona, Jerrod Carmichael, Carrie Brownstein, Fala Chen, Devon Ross Jeanne Balibar, Lars Eidinger, Vincent Lacoste, Hippolyte Girardot, Alex Descas, Nora Hamzawi, and Antoine Reinartz.

HBO Max premieres Irma Vep on June 6.

You can check out the poster below:

Here’s the official synopsis for the series:

Mira (Alicia Vikander) is an American movie star disillusioned by her career and a recent breakup, who comes to France to star as “Irma Vep” in a remake of the French silent film classic, “Les Vampires.” Set against the backdrop of a lurid crime thriller, Mira struggles as the distinctions between herself and the character she plays begin to blur and merge. IRMA VEP reveals to us the uncertain ground that lies at the border of fiction and reality, artifice and authenticity, art and life.

Read Next