Hollywood Reporter: The New "A-list"

Only time will tell. As the 90s and 00s showing, those who seem dominant now might not be a few years down the road.

All the names on the list feel credible possibilities to me except for Jenna Ortega. She's the lead in one hit Netflix show and was in the Scream ensemble, but none of that feels enough to anoint her a future A-lister for decades to come.

Not saying it can't happen for her, but I can't see it yet based on what she's done so far.

Jacob Elordi has potential, but he feels a bit too untested and premature as well.

I see we have two vetted by Denzel. Haha. This list sounds about right and I agree that Johnathan really did fumble the bag here.

I'm surprised Michael B Jordan is not on the list.

Austin put his foot on the peddle and ain't letting go. He really has increased his profile big time after Elvis. I think what helped was the good notices in prior films.

Well obviously a lot can change and people come out of nowhere so these things are a bit silly to try and predict. Butler and Chalamet seem like the surest bets here. The industry is determined to have Chalamet be the new Leo and Butler's talent will keep him at least a respected Phoenix type guy even if he doesn't develop into a real movie star. 

Feels too early to say on Mescal, Ortega, or Sweeney, the just haven't done enough. Powell definitely has star quality and has some very commercial projects coming up. Pugh had that big coming out with Midsommar and an Oscar nod for Little Women but has kind of dropped off, she did Dune and Oppenheimer but they were tiny parts, so feels like she needs another good lead. Joy also kind of felt like that but she has Furiosa coming up which will fix that if it hits. Zendaya is another solid one, seems to go from franchise to franchise and is at least a medium draw for now with Challengers doing ok. 

Saoirse's definitely the biggest omission, four Oscar nods puts her ahead of any of these people besides Chalamet. 

Too early to have actually put her on the list but Katy O'Brian is an interesting one after seeing her own the screen in Love Lies Bleeding. Would love to see what would happen if she was the lead in a big action movie.  She's also a bit older and getting a late start so maybe not quite analogous to these people. Although she's not that much older than Butler. 

Yeah, Ronan I think they consider too established.

Glen Powell feels a bit old compared to the rest of this list, but he does have some solid career momentum.

Crazy how badly Tom Holland fumbled his non-Spidey roles. He would've felt like a shoo-in for this kind of list just a few years ago.

I think Tom Holland is aware of this, which is why he's currently in London on stage getting some very good reviews as Romeo in Romeo And Juliet. A well recieved stage performance can transform the fortunes of a screen actor's career, and I feel that's what Holland is hoping happens for him. That maybe some of the more respected auteurs will see him as a serious casting option after this play, and not just as Spider-Man.

Ronan is way ahead of all of them. She’s been A list for a while like Emma Stone, Carey Mulligan and Margot Robbie.

Paul Mescal- Next Brando

Glenn Powell- Next Cruise

Austin Butler-Next Pitt

Timothee Chalamet-Next DiCaprio

Barry Keoghan-Next Phoenix

The article is a bit premature as many of these actors like Taylor-Joy, Butler, Powell, Ortega and Mescal have movies coming out this year that may tell us more about their box office pull.

If I had to rank them in order of likelihood to join the A-list:

Chalamet: With two big box office successes as a lead in Dune Part Two and Wonka he's definitely closest to A-List out of these actors. Both are based on IPs though so his ability to carry original stuff to success is still untested but that applies to most young actors.

Powell: He had a supporting role in Top Gun: Maverick and even though he wasn't responsible for a single ticket sold it elevated his prominence. Then struck gold with Anyone but You. Has Twisters coming up this summer whereas Hit Man is sadly wasted on Netflix.

Sweeney: Like Powell she has the rare distinction of headlining a big non-IP success (not counting the Shakespeare play it is loosely based on as I doubt most moviegoers even knew about it) so she's automatically ranked high. Her follow-ups Madame Web and Immaculate flopped though but the first one isn't on her. She also seems to know exactly what her biggest assets are and plays into it.

Butler: His big hit was sold on the person he portrayed and outside of Elvis he's pretty much untested so far. That said he seized the opportunity and I definitely see movie star potential but at this point I can't rank him higher until he has more movie roles to show for. The Bikeriders will be a good test for his star power.

Zendaya: The actor with the biggest discrepancy between supposed stardom and having actually proven their ability to attract moviegoers. Has so far only one attempt to lead a film and while 80M is fine for an original film it's still a flop due to its budget. Will need to prove her star power more if she wants her movie stardom to match her instagram "fame".

Ortega: Two IP-driven box office hits as a supporting player in the Scream franchise and a very buzzy Netflix show but so far we have no proof that TV show popularity translates to box office success. Will be in the Beetlejuice sequel later this year and likely add another hit to her resume but that is again a supporting role in an IP-based film. She's the youngest of the bunch by a good margin though so she has enough time to catch up.

Pugh: After breaking through with solid indie hits like Midsommar she's recently headed towards big studio blockbusters and took nothing roles that are barely remembered, and if they are then not for good reasons like that cringe-worthy sex scene in Oppenheimer. Joining the MCU seemed like a smart move in 2019 but now that franchise is clearly on a downward trajectory and her debut as the lead of an ensemble in Thunderbolts will most likely bomb. She also has an original movie in Don't Worry Darling that made roughly the same as Zendaya's vehicle but a good chunk of the box office can be attributed to her co-star who was actually the bigger draw than her.

Taylor-Joy: I'm not sure I dig her career plan. Looks like she has mostly action movies lined up next but I just don't see her become the next action heroine. Doesn't help that it looks like Furiosa will be a disappointment at the box office so the plan of building her up as the next action heroine might be over before it began. To really break through to mainstream success she should find a more suitable niche, I think horror worked pretty fine for her.

Mescal: A bit of a puzzling inclusion as he has only been in indie movies that barely made a dent at the box office so far. Has a lead Oscar nom to his name though so that definitely helps to raise his status. Whether he can go the movie star route will depend on Gladiator 2.

Elordi: No idea how he landed on this list, he hasn't headlined a movie of note yet and the films he had notable supporting roles in were flops (Priscilla, Saltburn). Not even close to A-list as of now.

I ignored mentioning their talent as A-list doesn't have much to do with acting prowess, otherwise Vin Diesel wouldn't be an A-lister.

With some visuals: