Andrew Haigh says upcoming film “A Long Winter” is his “version” of “The Revenant,” calling it an “endpoint” in his career so far

Andrew Haigh, the filmmaker behind “Looking” and “All of Us Strangers,” is describing his upcoming film “A Long Winter” as both a departure and a milestone, telling The Hollywood Reporter that the movie is his “version of ‘The Revenant.’” In the same first-look interview, Haigh also characterizes the project as an “endpoint” in his career so far, offering the first extended comments about the film’s place in his work.

The Hollywood Reporter’s preview places “A Long Winter” in the wilderness and emphasizes Haigh’s focus on character rather than spectacle. The film is described as “shot deep in the wilderness,” with an approach built around a “rich character study.” While the report does not detail plot points in the preview text, it frames the setting as central to how the story is observed and staged, aligning the project with the survival and endurance themes often associated with wilderness films.

Haigh’s comments position the new work as the culmination of ongoing interests in human relationships and emotional interiority, but with a different formal canvas than some of his earlier projects. “Looking,” a long-running exploration of queer life and identity, and “All of Us Strangers,” which moved into a more haunted, memory-driven mode, are referenced as part of the director’s established track record, setting up “A Long Winter” as another step in his evolution.

In the interview framing, the director’s comparison to “The Revenant” is presented as an interpretive lens rather than a direct remake or sequel. Haigh is quoted in The Hollywood Reporter as using the phrase “his version,” suggesting he is drawing on the wilderness tone and cinematic weight associated with the earlier film while applying it to his own themes and storytelling priorities.

The preview also indicates that “A Long Winter” is being positioned as a personal statement within Haigh’s filmography. By calling the project an “endpoint,” Haigh implies the film functions as a boundary marker, an installment meant to close out a phase of his career before any future direction. The Hollywood Reporter report presents these remarks as the first time Haigh is publicly explaining his intentions for the film.

For audiences and distributors, the first-look comments underscore that the project may appeal to viewers who follow Haigh for character-driven stories that engage with identity and memory, but now placed under the physical and environmental pressures of a wilderness narrative. For the industry, the comparison to a major, widely recognized studio-era benchmark highlights how the film may be marketed in terms of tone and cinematic lineage, even as it is presented as a distinct authorial work.

The Hollywood Reporter’s preview does not provide release dates or cast and crew details within the supplied excerpt, so readers will need further announcements to learn who is starring and how production and distribution are being handled. For now, the most concrete takeaways are Haigh’s stated framing of “A Long Winter” as wilderness-focused “character study,” his choice of “The Revenant” as the reference point, and his description of the film as a career “endpoint.”