The Incomer made waves at its premiere at the Sundance Festival earlier in 2026, and now, it's finally making its way to theaters. Domhnall Gleeson (star of The Paper Season 2), Gayle Rankin, and Grant O'Rourke lead the comedic folk fairy-tale film from Louis Paxton, which sees an awkward council worker, Daniel (Gleeson), upend the lives of siblings Isla (Rankin) and Sandy (O'Rourke) when he arrives on their isolated island home, attempting to rehouse them. What follows is a unique blend of comedy, drama, mythology, and animation, all woven together to create a quirky modern folktale with a touching human story at its heart.
Filmed among the wilds of the Scottish Highlands, The Incomer has a distinct look and tone, which the cast revealed to The Direct is a "creative miasma" that "you should go and just experience." Names like Taika Waititi and Yorgos Lanthimos were raised as possible tonal comparisons for The Incomer, although the actors were also clear that their film feels quite different in the current landscape.
Challenges on-set of The Incomer ranged from brutally cold swims in the ocean to scenes atop wild and windy cliff edges, with O'Rourke sharing that one scene almost made him pass out. However, Rankin (who has seen plenty of on-set challenges via her role on House of the Dragon) added that filming in the elements "was really immersive," and "certainly added a lot to the film." O'Rourke and Rankin also worked with a movement coach to nail the almost silent relationship between their long-isolated siblings, who "are mostly quiet because they don't really have anything to say after 30 years."
The Incomer won the NEXT Innovator Award at Sundance earlier in the year, and is releasing in US theaters on September 25. The full interview with Domhnall Gleeson, Gayle Rankin, and Grant O'Rourke can be found below.
The Incomer Is a Unique Blend of Genres
"It’s Really More of a Creative Miasma That You Should Go and Just Experience..."
- The Direct: "The Incomer feels like it's quite a unique blend of genres. We've got a bit of drama, a bit of comedy, there's some animation in there. If there are people out there who don't really know what to expect from this movie, are there any tonal references or other films you think it is similar to?"
Grant O'Rourke: Well, it's like folk comedy, so you could say it's just like 'Midsommar', but like funny. There's a little bit of horror in there, a little bit of heartfelt emotion. Louis Paxton's a big fan of genre, and I think he wears it on his sleeve. I don't have any sound bitey ways of doing it. It's really more of a creative miasma that you should go and just experience."
Domhnall Gleeson: I heard Louis reference Taika Waititi and the the work that he had done in New Zealand specifically, and I think that that's a pretty good reference point.
Gayle Rankin: And also 'Dogtooth', you know, Yorgos Lanthimos. There's a kind of like dark comedy element. There's a similar kind of narrative reference, in some ways very different, but it echoes it. And also 'Step Brothers.'
Building the Character Trio in The Incomer
"It’s Like They Are Part of Each Other, Kind of Each Other's Half..."
- The Direct: "I feel like Sandy and Isla are kind of like adult children in a way. They resort back to their primal instincts a lot, and their primal emotions. What sort of preparation went into getting into the headspace of a person who has been so extremely isolated and sheltered for so long?"
Grant O'Rourke: Well, Gayle and I did some work with an incredible movement director, which like, in an hour basically, we discovered this kind of physical language that we had with each other. That kind of helped because it was about creating a relationship. It's not just that they're both isolated, but they're both so completely aware of the other person that they don't barely even need to acknowledge them.
It's kind of that way with a mother and child, for example. It's like they are part of each other, kind of each other's half basically. But it helped that Gayle was just really easy to work with. I think I'd spent about 10 years having an idea of what Sandy was, and Gayle came in and just sort of lifted it a little bit and raised the bar, and I had to try and catch up with her.
Gayle Rankin: Yeah, the movement stuff was really helpful, and I think you know we had some time to rehearse, which was great, and it's such a pleasure to do that when you're making a film. All of us come from a theatrical background, in some way, and I think we all take pleasure in rehearsal. But the movement did really help because a lot of their interactions are mostly silent. I mean, there's a lot of talking in the film, but like [Isla and Sandy's] lives are mostly quiet because they don't really have anything to say after 30 years.
Grant O'Rourke: I think me and Gayle, one thing we have in common is we're both kind of a little bit fearless about certain kinds of things, and we're happy to just throw ourselves straight into stuff. We were recording a big fight scene on our second day, so it was like we had to just get there pretty quick. It was something that we both immediately clicked with.
- The Direct: "Domhnall, we've seen you play some variations of the corporate office worker type, whether it's in The Paper or Ex Machina, or to a degree, General Hux in Star Wars. What do you think makes Daniel different to those other corporate type characters that you played in the past?"
Domhnall Gleeson: I mean, if you looked at what most people's jobs in the world are, they're probably closer to–apart from the space Nazi–a lot of people work in an office, or that's the way they make their living. So, just because you work in an office doesn't mean you're any kind of person, really. You can be anybody.
I think Daniel's very different to those other people because he's slowly allowed himself to be cut off from the people around him. He doesn't realize it, but he's living in his head more than in the world, and then he meets [Sandy and Isla] who force him, through threatening his life, to live in the world as it's happening to him, and so who he is changes pretty quickly, and I love that. I love the challenges that he had to take on in the film.
The Challenging Realities of Filming in the Wild
"It Was Really Immersive. It Certainly Added a Lot to the Film..."
- The Direct: "Looking at this film, it feels like it might have been quite a demanding shoot. You're out in the elements all the time, you're getting into physical fights. What was the most challenging scene for each of you to film?"
Grant O'Rourke: I had to do a scene on a cliff edge where I was holding Domhnall's legs, and I was so terrified because we were like 300 feet up in the air, and it was like a small six foot wide promontory that we filmed on. I was so terrified that I had to just stare at Domhnall's crotch because it was the farthest thing away from the edge that I could look at without seeing just sheer drop below me. I only managed to do one take of it, and I almost passed out.
Domhnall Gleeson: [Gayle and I] were in the sea. That was a pretty hard day. I deal pretty well with the cold, so it wasn't like the worst day I've ever had on set or anything like that. But we were doing something in the sea that was supposed to look like it was a lovely warm day, and we were doing a swimming lesson, and it was not warm. So that was a bit challenging, and there was a lot of midges on different days, a lot of biting little mosquito-type things. That was not good.
Gayle Rankin: I mean, I love the water, but that was not for me, and I love swimming. I think also the last scene of the film is also in the water, and I remember the waves being quite violent that day. It was just stressful, you know. But it's exciting, I love shooting in kind of wild environments where you can jump right in. And we had a lot of them on this film. It was really immersive. It certainly added a lot to the film.
The entire interview can be enjoyed below.
