Joel McHale Set to Star in Kevin Cate's Next Short Film
Joel McHale is set to star in the next short film from director Kevin Cate. The two confirmed the casting in a joint video on 23 October, according to Variety.
Many viewers know McHale from the Fox sitcom Animal Control, which is now in its fifth season. He also appeared in two films this year, Scream 7 and Stop! That! Train!.
Cate is less well known to general audiences, but his earlier work has travelled far online. His 2023 science-fiction short Open Door drew 15 million views across YouTube Shorts, TikTok and Instagram. Variety reports that Open Door is now set to be adapted into a feature film.
Cate is also preparing his first feature, Unbearable Christmas, which stars Julia Stiles and Alex Moffat. In September he released a short called Birthday Flight, which has reached one million views across platforms.
The new short will be made by the same core team that worked on Open Door, Birthday Flight and Unbearable Christmas. Cate is producing it under Clinging Vine Films, the production company he uses for his projects.
Short films rarely attract a name like McHale's, and his involvement is the first public detail about this one. The casting is the only part of the project that has been confirmed so far.
What makes this one stand out is the path it follows. Cate's earlier shorts found their audience on phone screens first, and a feature adaptation of Open Door is now in the works. Each step has moved his work a little closer to a bigger stage.
