Plane crashes! Terrorists! Gun fights! That sort of stuff appears all the time in trailers for summer action movies. But its a little different when the movie in question is The Phoenician Scheme, written and directed by Wes Anderson. Anderson is best known for impeccably-designed comedies about incredibly privileged and incredibly talented people going on emotional journeys, movies such as The Royal Tenenbaums and The Grand Budapest Hotel.To be sure, The Phoenician Scheme has all of the hallmarks of an Anderson movie. Yellow Futura font? Check. Wide-angle shots of characters standing in a straight line? Check. Actors from previous Anderson movies? Check.The Phoenician Scheme stars Benicio del Toro as rich European Zsa Zsa Korda who creates a stir when he leaves his estate not to his nine sons, but to his sole daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton), who has become a nun and is estranged from her father. The announcement comes as Korda embarks on his greatest project, a massive complex on the island of Phoenicia. In response, several of Kordas rivals (played by regulars such as Mathieu Amalric, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Jeffrey Wright, and Scarlett Johansson). line up to attack or support him.So far, so familiar, at least within the Anderson canon. Even newcomers such as Michael Cera and Richard Ayoade appear to fit so well within Andersons world that its kind of a shock that this is their first project together.But then the guns come out. Within the two minute and forty-four second clip, terrorists fire machine guns, grenades explode, and someone pulls a knife all stuff that seems far outside the scope of a guy who makes movies about sad prep school kids.Except, it isnt. Wes Anderson has made an action movie before. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou is, certainly, standard Anderson fare, the story of a Jacques Cousteau-type oceanographer trying to get a look at the jaguar shark that devoured his friend and made him a laughing stock, while also reconnecting with his long-lost son (Owen Wilson). Yet, The Life Aquatic is also an action movie, by Andersons own admission.In the directors commentary for the Criterion release, Anderson talks about how he intentionally tried to borrow from action tropes, especially in a late plot turn in which pirates kidnap Zissou and his men. Theres more than a little of Indiana Jones and Belloc to the conflict between Steve and his nemesis Alistair Hennessey (Jeff Goldblum), who find themselves drawn together (along with a bond company stooge played by Bud Cort) while escaping from the pirates.Andreson allowed himself a more direct homage for the end of The Life Aquatic, which borrows from the ending of The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai. Set to David Bowies Queen Bitch, we watch as Zissou walks stridently in front of the camera as the credits roll. Eventually, hes joined as other members of his team join him. But where Buckaroo Banzai and his team simply stride with no particular direction (and also counted Goldblums newcomer New Jersey among the joiners), Zissou leads his group to his ship the Belafonte, an affirmation of life that continues even after completing his adventure.Zissous next adventure never made it to screen, but with The Phoenician Scheme, it appears that Andersons has arrived. The trailer alone features just as much violence as The Life Aquatic, suggesting that Anderson intends to outdo his previous dabbling in the genre. Given the expansion of Andersons recent works the worlds within worlds of Asteroid City, the globetrotting of The French Dispatch, and the layered comedy of The Grand Budapest Hotel the time is right for a big budget actioner from him. As long as it comes with at least one shot of Bill Murray, looking wistfully off into the distance.The Phoenician Scheme blasts into theaters on May 30, 2025.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!