Together is a 2025 supernatural body horror film written and directed by Michael Shanks, in his directorial debut. The film stars real-life married actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple who move to the countryside but find themselves encountering a mysterious force that horrifically causes changes in their bodies.
"Together" premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2025, and is scheduled to be released in the United States by Neon on July 30, 2025, and in Australia by Kismet Movies on July 31.
Production.
In February 2024, Dave Franco and Alison Brie joined the cast of the film, with Michael Shanks directing from a screenplay he wrote. 30West, Tango Entertainment and Picturestart produced and financed the film.
Release.
The film premiered in the Midnight section of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2025. Positive word-of-mouth following its premiere sparked much interest among companies including A24, Neon, Apple TV+, Focus Features, Searchlight Pictures, Mubi, and Amazon MGM Studios. Neon subsequently acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film for $17 million, the first major sale at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. It had its international premiere on the opening night of the Sydney Film Festival on June 4, 2025, also screening in the Official Competition section of the festival on June 7 and 8.
"Together" was scheduled for a theatrical release in the United States on August 1, 2025. It was later moved up by two days to release on July 30. The film is scheduled to be released in Australia by Kismet Movies on July 31.
Plagiarism lawsuit.
In May 2025, Shanks, Brie, Franco, the talent agency Endeavor, and Neon were sued in a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement on the 2023 film "Better Half" by writer-director Patrick Henry Phelan; their production company StudioFest was the plaintiff in the suit. According to the filing, "Better Half" was pitched to Brie and Franco in August 2020, who rejected an offer to star because they wanted to produce it themselves and have William Morris Endeavor hire a writer for the material; claims on supposed similarities between the two films were also made. Shanks vehemently denied the allegations, stating that he wrote and registered his first draft in 2019, with the story being uniquely inspired by his relationship with his wife, and that his agent pitched Franco with his script.