Production on What Happens at Night is set to begin in Prague later next week, and Mads Mikkelsen has officially been confirmed to be joining Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence in Martin Scorsese’s latest feature.
The Danish actor’s casting was confirmed Thursday by Deadline and other industry trades, ending weeks of speculation about his involvement. The film, backed by Apple Original Films in partnership with Studiocanal, has been in pre-production in the Czech capital since Scorsese arrived in Prague earlier this month.
Filming is scheduled to kick off next week, with location shoots planned in Prague’s city center at the end of February and additional work slated for mid-March. The project is registered with the Czech Audiovisual Fund, signaling full production activity in the country.
Mikkelsen cast as Brother Emmanuel
According to Deadline, Mikkelsen will play Brother Emmanuel, a mysterious faith healer encountered by the film’s central couple. The role aligns with the novel’s surreal and unsettling tone, as the story follows an American husband and wife who travel to a snowbound European town to adopt a child, only to find themselves isolated in a vast, enigmatic hotel.
Based on Peter Cameron’s novel and adapted for the screen by Patrick Marber, What Happens at Night marks Scorsese’s latest collaboration with DiCaprio following films like Killers of the Flower Moon, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Shutter Island. It is their seventh feature together. Lawrence co-stars in what will be her first on-screen collaboration with Scorsese, though the director recently served as a producer on Die My Love.
Patricia Clarkson is also confirmed as part of the cast. With Mikkelsen’s addition, the ensemble now includes multiple Academy Award winners and nominees, underscoring the film’s prestige positioning.
Mikkelsen is known internationally for his role in Another Round, which won the Academy Award for Best International Feature, as well as Casino Royale, Doctor Strange, and the television series Hannibal. His casting reinforces expectations that the film will lean heavily into psychological tension and atmospheric unease rather than large-scale spectacle.
Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, a long-time Scorsese collaborator, is expected to rejoin the director behind the camera, continuing a creative partnership that has defined the visual style of the filmmaker’s recent work.
One of Prague’s most high-profile shoots
While Prague has hosted major international productions in recent years, What Happens at Night stands out for the stature of its director and cast. Between Scorsese, DiCaprio, Lawrence, Clarkson and Mikkelsen, the production represents one of the most decorated creative lineups to film in the Czech Republic.
DiCaprio recently confirmed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival that he would be arriving in Prague within weeks to begin shooting. His appearance was part of ongoing awards campaigning for One Battle After Another, further placing the upcoming Scorsese project within the current awards-season conversation.
The film is being produced by Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions alongside Apple and Studiocanal, continuing the director’s relationship with Apple that began with Killers of the Flower Moon, which received 10 Academy Award nominations.
Much of the film is expected to be shot in studio environments and locations outside Prague, reflecting the novel’s wintry, unnamed European setting. However, confirmed city-center shoots in February and March will bring visible production activity to central Prague.
No official release date has been announced, though the film can be expected to debut in late 2026 or 2027. With cameras set to roll next week, What Happens at Night moves from speculation to active production, positioning Prague at the center of a major international auteur-led feature.
Lead photo: Mads Mikkelsen at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival courtesy Wikimedia Commons / LucaFazPhoto, Prague courtesy DepositPhotos.com. Montage: The Prague Reporter
