Stranger Things Star Maya Hawke & Camila Mendes In New Netflix Thriller ‘Do Revenge’

Maya Hawke (Stranger Things) and Camila Mendes (Riverdale) will star in Netflix’s latest dark comedy Do Revenge. The film sees high school students seeking revenge with more bubbling underneath the surface. 

Creator Jennifer Kaytin Robinson told ELLE earlier this month that the film is a “backward-engineered” revenge story. She quips, “What would it be like to take the fun, thrillery stakes of a Hitchcock movie and put it in high school?”

Mendes stars as Drea, whose ex-boyfriend Max (Austin Abrams from Euphoria) leaked her sex tape while Hawke plays transfer student Eleanor, who is outed to the school when another girl claims that she tried to kiss her. The pair come together to plot their revenge against each other’s bullies.  

Do Revenge

The Do Revenge photos released by Netflix provide a first look at the pair and show them getting cosy with one another. If there was any hesitation about a lesbian love story, Robinson herself confirmed that the film was gay by tweeting a simple “yes” in response to a fan query. 

The film also stars Outer Banks Jonathan Daviss as Elliott, Alisha Boe (13 Reasons Why) as Drea’s best friend Tara, Cassady McClincy (The Walking Dead)  as Ashlyn and there is a brief cameo role by Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner. 

While the film does explore vengeance, it is not trying to paint someone as a hero or a villain in black and white terms. “There is the comment on, not necessarily cancel culture, but accountability versus the way that we tear people down without the right information potentially, and the way that we lift people up without the right information potentially,” Robinson says. 

She adds that there are varying points within the film’s narrative arc in which “everyone’s the villain and everyone’s the hero” which is what growing up reflects. “I wanted to make something that paints with all the colours of adolescence.”

‘It Had To Be Maya’

Austin Abrams, Rish Shah, Talia Ryder, Ava Capri, Jonathan Daviss, Maia Reficco, Paris Berelc, Alisha Boe, and Sophie Turner co-star in Do Revenge, featuring music by Este Haim and Amanda Yamate.

Premieres September 16 pic.twitter.com/5OP58ON6K4

— Netflix (@netflix) July 20, 2022

According to Robinson, the genuine chemistry between the two actors was too good to pass up and reason enough for her to shift the entire production to accommodate both of their busy schedules. 

“It had to be Maya. And so, the movie was supposed to take place in Los Angeles; we moved it and shot it in Atlanta so we could shoot it at the same time as Stranger Things. And I rewrote it and reset it in Miami… We moved the whole movie six weeks before production.”

Robinson spoke to US Magazine, asserting that the goal of the film was for viewers to have a “great fucking time.” “This is not some big political statement. It’s just a really fun movie that looks cool and stars a bunch of really excellent actors who are at the top of their craft and are also just gorgeous,” she said. 

Do Revenge will be available for streaming on Netflix September 16.