We finally have our first look at Barry Keoghan in the highly anticipated Butterfly Jam, the English-language debut of award-winning Russian director Kantemir Balagov. The “long-awaited feature” will have its world premiere during the Directors’ Fortnight section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on May 13 (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Alongside Keoghan, Butterfly Jam stars Riley Keough, Harry Potter actor Harry Melling, Monica Bellucci, and newcomer Talha Akdogan.
The first still from the film shows Keoghan alongside Keough, though details about their characters are being kept under wraps.
Goodfellas/Wild Bunch
Related: Best streaming services
We do know that the film is set in New Jersey’s Circassian community and centres on a teenager whose father and aunt run a struggling diner which specialises in Circassian cuisine.
“When he’s not helping out in the restaurant, the boy is training to become a professional wrestler,” reads the synopsis, per Deadline.
“After one of his father’s misguided schemes goes wrong, he is forced to take on board his father’s failings as he finds himself confronted with a violence that will force him to grow up faster than he would like.”
Keoghan is currently filming Sam Mendes’ The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, with each member of the iconic band getting a film told from their perspective.
The actor will play Ringo Starr alongside Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.
Earlier this year, Keoghan appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and spoke about meeting Starr at his home.
Sony Pictures
Related: UK film release dates
“I met him at his house, and he played the drums for me,” Keoghan said. “He asked me to play, but I wasn’t playing the drums for Ringo.”
“When I was talking to him, I couldn’t look at him. I was nervous, like right now. But he’s like, ‘You can look at me’.”
The Irish actor was last seen in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, as Duke Shelby, the eldest son of Cillian Murphy’s iconic gang leader Tommy.
Butterfly Jam is yet to get a UK release date.
The new edition of Living Legends, a 100-page all-colour celebration of Sir David Attenborough, is here! Buy Sir David Attenborough in newsagents or online.
Reporter, Digital Spy
Stephanie is a freelance news writer, who previously covered WWE and AEW for Digital Spy.
After graduating with a degree in history from Queen Mary University, London, she studied journalism at Birkbeck University.
Outside of her work at Digital Spy, she writes about pop culture, with a special focus towards Irish media and how it intersects with politics.
You can read more of her work on her Substack page.