‘Big’ new IMAX thriller movie gets exciting update from Irish star

'It's a big movie... when it does arrive, it'll be an IMAX special.'

JOE spoke to Gillen on the red carpet for the premiere of his new RTÉ crime comedy series, Tall Tales & Murder. The show reunites him with Love/Hate creator Stuart Carolan.

Written and directed by Sam Esmail (Mr Robot, Leave the World Behind, details about the movie are being kept under wraps. That said, it has been described as a "paranoid thriller about a hunt for a cyber-terrorist in the vein of Mr Robot and The Silence of the Lambs".

Aidan Gillen gives exciting update on 'big' new IMAX cyber thriller Panic Carefully

While Gillen said he couldn't say too much about it yet, he did describe it as "a big movie" and "an IMAX special".

"Yeah, I mean, there's probably not too much I can tease about it. I mean, if anyone hasn't heard anything about it, I suppose you'd describe it as a cyber thriller," the Irish actor told JOE.

"It's from Sam Esmail, who brought us Mr Robot, and it's that world.

"He's worked with Julia Roberts a few times [on Homecoming and Leave the World Behind]. So, she's there in the cast, as are Elizabeth Olsen and Eddie Redmayne. Yeah, it's a big movie.

"I think it's coming out in April [2027] now. They've pushed it back a little, but when it does arrive, it'll be an IMAX special.

"I play just another guy who shows up," he jokingly added, referring to his earlier description during our interview of his character from Tall Tales & Murder, Grinner McNair.

The series begins with a comatose man, known only as Anonymous (Gillen), being looked after in a nursing home by nurse Bridget (Ella Lily Hyland) and new staff member/car thief Paul (Casey Walsh).

When he awakes, Bridget and Paul learn that Anonymous is actually the long-missing gangster Grinner McNair. Grinner claims to have hidden Celtic gold, a treasure that many are desperate to find.

On what attracted him to Tall Tales & Murder, Gillen credited the show's creator.

"Stuart Carolan's the easy answer. I've worked with Stuart on Love Hate seasons 1 and 2, and I knew him before that. There were some other things we were going to work on before that and didn't happen, one thing in particular," he explained.

"It's kind of a no-brainer to go back there when Stuart came with a new idea."

On Grinner, he added: "I've been describing him as a guy who shows up. I'm kind of in the habit of playing guys who show up.

"He was originally called Anonymous, I think. Even in the script, it starts off and he's known as Anonymous, which I thought was quite a good name. I wouldn't have minded playing Anonymous all the way through.

"Grinner, he's a warm-hearted man."

Aidan Gillen speaking to JOE at the premiere of Tall Tales & Murder

Carolan once said he felt like a "half-wit" for killing off Gillen's character earlier in Love/Hate's run. We asked Gillen if he felt like Carolan was correcting a wrong by getting the actor back for Tall Tales & Murder.

"Not at all, no. I mean, I don't know what the mechanics of it were at the time. I think I had to be somewhere else, you know? And that was the way it worked.

"But I am really glad to be back here on this, yeah."

The actor revealed this is intentional, telling JOE: "Yeah, it is important to me, and it is a conscious choice, and I will continue to do that… There are a couple more in the works."

Tall Tales & Murder premieres on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Sunday, 27 September. Panic Carefully is set for a cinema release on 9 April 2027.