Simon Pegg, in his exclusive cover shoot with Something About Rocks, has revealed that he and Edgar Wright are working on a fourth collaboration together.
Pegg and Wright co-wrote Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End aka the Cornetto Trilogy, but have not worked together in over a decade.
But Pegg revealed he and Wright are constantly plotting something new: “Edgar and I are, at the moment, meeting up weekly either in person or on Zoom, just to talk about ideas. We’ve got a lot of potential avenues to walk down.”
He continued: “We know it must be something that we’re both really into. Like we were both really into zombie movies, action movies and science fiction. So those genres were adopted before because we had a passion for them,”
Fans shouldn’t expect a fourth Cornetto film though; Pegg make it clear the movie would be something completely different to their previous collaborations. “We’re definitely not doing another zombie film, but we’re just figuring it out. We’re not sure if we’re doing another action film, either. But I’m definitely hoping, at some point, to make another comedy with Edgar,” he says.
Of his friend, he added: “We [have] spent a lot of time together and I love him. He’s one of my best friends. I’m always in awe of him as a director, just because he’s so gifted. The opportunity to work with your friends is always a delight because you have a rhythm, and you have an existing chemistry that you can build on.”
Since The World’s End was released in 2013, Pegg has made four Mission: Impossible movies, co-wrote and starred in Star Trek: Beyond and worked with Steven Spielberg on Ready Player One. Wright, meanwhile, has directed Baby Driver, Last Night in Soho and a remake of the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic, The Running Man.
Recently, Pegg’s friend Nick Frost, who appeared in all three of the Cornetto films, also hinted at a reunion online. Pegg added that working with both Frost and Wright is a dream.
He explained: “It’s a real safe space for me, working with them. When I get asked for advice, I always say find other people with the same likes. Find actors and directors who feel the same way you do and work with them because it’s such a fruitful situation to work from.”
Pegg also told us that he will get behind the camera soon himself too, directing a feature film for the first time. While the title is under wraps – “I don’t want to jinx it”m he says – it’s from a book he’s “loved” for “many years.”
He explained: “I feel so ready to do it, to go behind the camera. I love the idea of being with something from its inception to completion. I’m really excited about it.”
He’s hoping that he can deploy some of the skills he’s picked up over the years working with some of the world’s leading directors too. “I’ve shadowed Chris McQuarrie, Edgar Wright and Brad Bird, just watching them choose lenses and frame shots.” Working with Spielberg, his childhood hero, was also one of the most special and informative experiences of his career.
“It’s lovely to have worked with someone like Steven, just because I grew up watching his films. I have a huge affection for him as a director and now as a person. [Working with him] was a real achievement, which I treasure.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Pegg reflected on 20 years of Mission: Impossible, revealing another film might be on the way.
He said: “I doubt very much it was the last one. It definitely was the end of that chapter of Ethan Hunt’s life…but it might be that Tom is sitting on his hands in a year or two and thinks, ‘Let’s do another one.’ So, with that in mind, it was kind of like, ‘It’s the end, for now.’”
Asked if he would be happy to return to the series, where he played Benji Dunn for 19 years, Pegg answered: “I’d want a script and a stop date.”
He also opened up about his love of music and DJ-ing, and his hopes of playing Glastonbury in 2027.
Despite being a relative newcomer to the art form, only taking it up in 2022 after being spotted by Blur’s Alex James and DJ Fatboy Slim, Pegg has said he would love to play Glastonbury and that he has “spoken to [festival organiser] Emily Eavis about what’s possible”.
He added: “I feel like an imposter…but I work hard at it, I spend a lot of time finding the tracks like I like and figuring out how to play them together and make new tracks. It’s like a kind of science project!”
He also also opened up about his favourite jewellery to wear, and how he likes being bold with his style.
“As a man, you hear the word ‘brooch’ and you think, ‘Oh that’s something my grandma would wear,’” he joked with us. “But you can get really cool, elegant brooches which are masculine and are a statement.” He says he enjoys taking more risks with his style these days. “Sometimes ostentatious is fun. If you feel you like it, but you’re worried what other people will think, screw them. Put it on!”
He continued: “It’s always nice to dress up. Sometimes me and my stylist pick something kind of crazy, and I like that. It’s fun.” The day before his cover shoot with us, Pegg went to a special BFI fellowship dinner for one of his heroes, Guillermo del Toro, and used that as an occasion to bedeck himself. “I wore these little jewelled skulls on my lapel because it was Guillermo, and he’s obsessed with skeletons,” he says. “Last year in Paris, I wore this gold, jewel-encrusted revolver around my neck – it was a fun little nod to Mission Impossible. You can say a lot with jewellery.”
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