Factual specialist Dash Pictures finishes filming Better, a psychological cat‑and‑mouse tale featuring Tom Hopper in two roles.
Dash Pictures, the London‑based factual label behind Fantastic Friends, has wrapped production on Better, its first scripted feature—a psychological thriller in which Tom Hopper plays estranged identical twins whose reunion turns deadly. The shoot, completed this month, signals the company’s wider pivot toward narrative content after years of non‑fiction success.
Better marks the feature directing debut of Dash founder Daniel Sharp and is produced by Anna O’Malley (Slow Horses) from a screenplay by Omid Ghaffarian. Plot details are tightly held, but insiders say the film uses practical split‑screen techniques and digital doubles to keep audiences guessing which brother is on screen at any moment.
“In both documentary and drama we unite researchers, writers and experts to deliver stories with high production values that broadcasters trust,” Sharp said when outlining the company’s 2025 slate—language that now doubles as a mission statement for his move into fiction.
Hopper, best known as Luther Hargreeves in The Umbrella Academy, has a track record of physically demanding roles and says the dual performance “was like playing mental chess in every scene.” Recent advances in motion‑control rigs and face‑replacement software have made such twin roles increasingly feasible, a trend highlighted by People magazine’s roundup of actors who have doubled themselves on screen.
Studios are betting audiences remain fascinated by look‑alike suspense: Netflix’s Echoes spun twin‑swap intrigue into global Top‑10 numbers in 2023; indie titles The Image of You and The Monkey put murderous siblings front‑and‑centre; and this year’s box‑office sleeper Sinners had Michael B. Jordan performing a 1930s two‑hander to critical acclaim. Industry trackers note that more than a dozen twin‑focused thrillers are dated across 2024‑26 release calendars.
Sales agents say Better will be shopped to fall festivals before seeking a streaming partner, positioning Dash Pictures to parlay its documentary craftsmanship into the high‑stakes arena of genre cinema.
