I chuckled last week when I read a line from Deadline‘s Nancy Tartaglione stating that Terrence Malick‘s Knight of Cups is “not yet ready.” I responded that “if Cups is commercially released before the spring of 2015 I’ll be on the floor with amazement.” The flakiest, most whimsical director in the history of commercial cinema was shooting Cups two years ago, and with each new film he seems to need more and more time in post-production. Today Indiewire‘s Drew Taylor has reported about running into actress Isabel Lucas (costar of Tristan Patterson‘s Electra Slide, which is playing at the Tribeca Film Festival) and asking her about her costarring role in Knight of Cups. She’s only a costar, but she said that Cups “will be coming out next year.” The earliest unveiling would/could be at the Berlinale in February, but Cannes 2015 could also, of course, be a possible first-look venue. Although it’s conceivable that a release could follow a Berlinale showing in March or April, a more likely scenario, given that Malick doesn’t make summer fare, would be a commercial release sometime in the early to mid fall (or perhaps even during the holidays). That would clear the way for the release of Untitled Terrence Malick Project (formerly known as Lawless), which also shot in 2012, to come out sometime in 2016.

Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett during filming of Knight of Cups in 2012.