Filmmaker Lilly Wachowski is struggling to secure $10 million in financing for her trans-focused thriller, The Hunted,
because Hollywood backers are reportedly intimidated by its wall-to-wall trans cast. The project, co-written with Mickey Ray Mahoney, highlights a major funding barrier for inclusive storytelling in the industry.
Getting a feature film financed in Hollywood is rarely straightforward, but for co-creator Lilly Wachowski, the hurdle is specifically tied to representation. While speaking on a recent media appearance, the Matrix
director revealed that her newest script faces rejection not because of its quality, but because of who populates its world. Executives and backers remain hesitant to back a production that centers entirely on transgender characters.
The Premise and Production Standoff Behind The Hunted
Budgeted at around $10 million, The Hunted
is an indictment of the current climate,
according to its co-creators. Wachowski co-wrote the script alongside her partner, Mickey Ray Mahoney. The narrative takes place in a dystopian America where transgender people face systemic erasure and brutality. The plot kicks into motion when a heinous crime triggers an underground network of mutual care and resistance, leading two trans women to hunt down the perpetrator through the highest echelons of government.
Despite strong interest in the writing itself, the casting requirements have brought production to a standstill. As Wachowski detailed during an interview on Variety’s reporting of her KCRW podcast appearance, the industry remains risk-averse when confronted with inclusive storytelling at scale.
“People like it, but they really don’t want to make it because it’s [got a] wall-to-wall trans cast.”
Lilly Wachowski, Filmmaker, via Variety
Wachowski added that she have to get creative and figure out different ways that I can get this in front of people.
The film is currently set up in development through Anarchists United, with Natasha Lyonne’s Ariadne banner attached to produce.
Commercial History and Industry Risk Tolerance
The hesitation from studio executives is not happening in a vacuum. The career trajectory of the Wachowski siblings features massive box office highs alongside significant financial setbacks analyzed by industry observers. Following their 1999 cultural milestone The Matrix,
the duo directed sequels including The Matrix Reloaded
and The Matrix Revolutions.
However, subsequent high-budget projects faced difficult box office returns. Trade reporting indicates that both Speed Racer
and Jupiter Ascending
sustained significant losses each, while Cloud Atlas
also lost money. Later, Lana Wachowski directed 2021’s The Matrix Resurrections,
which also underperformed financially, bringing reported losses across those films to substantial amounts. For traditional studio financiers, that track record compounds the perceived risk of backing unconventional genre fare.
Taking the Story to the Stage and Finding Catharsis
Faced with traditional funding roadblocks, the production team has turned to alternative methods to build momentum. Wachowski described the project as a personal and emotional necessity.
“This is a script that was extremely important for me to write. It was a response to what is happening in the world for trans people, and it gave me a hugely cathartic receptacle to dump all of my anger and rage and frustration into.”
Lilly Wachowski, Filmmaker, via Variety
To bypass studio gatekeepers and showcase the material directly to audiences, Wachowski organized a live table read of The Hunted
at Los Angeles’ Dynasty Typewriter theater. Reflecting on the process of bringing friends and collaborators together for the live presentation, Wachowski expressed a commitment to the community behind the work.
“I’m just going to go out and I’m going to grab that trans joy with all of my friends. It’s not the thing that I had imagined it was going to be, but the end result is the same.”
Lilly Wachowski, Filmmaker, via Variety
Whether the live presentation will translate into the backing required to bring The Hunted
out of late-stage production and into principal photography remains uncertain. For now, the project stands as a high-profile test of whether Hollywood’s risk calculations can accommodate explicitly marginalized casts in mainstream cinema.
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