Ben Wheatley joins Merman.

25 November 2025

Ben Wheatley has reteamed with executive producer Siobhan Murphy at Merman, where the director of 'High-Rise' and 'In the Earth' is keen to make as much "cool stuff" as possible.

Director Ben Wheatley has reteamed with executive producer Siobhan Murphy at Merman. The two worked together at Moxie Pictures from 2013 to 2017, when Murphy left to help spearhead Merman's branded arm. Eight years later, Murphy caught Wheatley's one-take music video for Sleaford Mods and knew she had to reach out.

"I am a die hard Ben Wheatley fan (who isn’t?!) and his recent music video for Sleaford Mods featuring the incredible Gwendoline Christie prompted me to get in touch again. As soon as we met it was just like old times," Murphy says, "and I literally cannot wait to begin this new chapter together."

Wheatley, whose film credits include 'High-Rise', 'In the Earth', and 'Free Fire', is also eager to get cracking: "I'm really excited to be working with the Merman team and making some cool stuff. They have their fingers in a lot of wonderful media pies, so I'm looking forward to what the New Year brings!"

It may deliver more commercials like this one for Thomas Cook. The ad introduces us to a man with a very unusual problem: every time he goes to sleep, he genuinely has no idea where he'll wake up—this is demonstrated by the strange circumstances that creatives Kevin Masters and Peter Giblin have asked director Wheatley to place him in. They are seriously weird.

But his favourite awakenings are, naturally enough, those where he finds himself in a Thomas Cook hotel and he can enjoy everything that it has to offer. It's an unusual and entertaining way of arriving at a familiar proposition, showing what Wheatley's capable of in the TVC realm.

If you're keen to work with Ben Wheatley sooner rather than later, ring Ellen Crane on 020 8079 0140 or email ellencrane@hellomerman.com.