The Phoenician Scheme ending explained: Does Korda reconcile with his daughter Liesl?

The Phoenician Scheme is an espionage black comedy film that was released in theaters on May 30, 2025. It is directed and written by Wes Anderson, who co-wrote the film's story with Roman Coppola. Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson, John Peet, and Anderson serve as the film's producers.

The film is set in the 1950s and features Benicio del Toro as the corrupt businessman Zsa-Zsa Korda. Mia Threapleton plays his estranged daughter, Liesl, who reconciles with him after he turns his life around. Additionally, Michael Cera, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Willem Dafoe appear in supporting roles.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for The Phoenician Scheme.

Why does Korda transform his life in The Phoenician Scheme?

Zsa-Zsa Korda and Liesl from The Phoenician Scheme (Image via Instagram/@thephoenicianscheme)

The Phoenician Scheme revolves around the successful arms dealer and businessman Zsa-Zsa Korda, who survives multiple assassination attempts. When a near-death experience leaves him unconscious, Korda briefly visits the afterlife and is forced to take a hard look at his life choices after waking up. He decides to reconnect with his estranged daughter, Liesl, who is training to be a Catholic nun.

Korda convinces Liesl to leave her religious life behind and follow his business pursuits with the hope that she will succeed him someday. His latest business venture involves investing in a high-risk scheme in Phoenicia that plans to use sl*ve labor to build the country's infrastructure.

However, Korda's shady business practices have tarnished his reputation and made him a target of governmental agencies. One such government agent, Excalibur, plans to take down Korda by increasing the price of building materials. But the tycoon passes on the price hike to his investors without their knowledge. Still, their investment only covers 50% of the budget shortfall.

As a way to cover the deficit, Korda agrees to marry his second cousin, Hilda Sussman-Korda, who is the heiress to the Korda armaments fortune. But she declines to help him out.

Also, Korda's half-brother, Nubar, withdraws his investment from the scheme during the investor's meeting at the Desert Oasis Palace hotel. He is also revealed to be the one behind Korda's numerous assassination attempts. Years of enmity culminate in a full-out brawl between Zsa-Zsa and Nubar, which ends with the latter's death.

In the film's climax, Korda uses his funds to complete the Phoenician scheme, despite it rendering him bankrupt. He chooses to live an honorable life and adopts Christianity as his guiding principle. At the end of The Phoenician Scheme, Korda opens up a small bistro with Liesl, who forgives him for his past mistakes.

Who is Liesl's father in The Phoenician Scheme?

An image of Liesl from The Phoenician Scheme (Image via Instagram/@thephoenicianscheme)

Liesl's relationship with Korda becomes strained after he sends her to live at the convent at the age of five. To make matters worse, Korda is alleged to have killed his wife, Liesl's mother. However, he learns that he is not Liesl's biological father during a brief encounter with his wife in the afterlife.

He admits to Liesl that he knew about his wife's affair with his half-brother, Nubar, and spread a rumor that she was also seeing Nubar's assistant out of spite. After hearing about the rumor, Nubar reportedly killed Liesl's mother in anger. However, Nubar denies being Liesl's biological father, too.

Appalled at her family history, Liesl decides to return to the Church. But she is turned away by her mother superior, who believes that she is not suited for the religious life. At the end of the film, she gets engaged to Korda's administrative assistant, Bjørn Lund, an entomologist from Norway who was secretly spying on Korda for Excalibur.

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About the author

Deepti is an entertainment writer at Sportskeeda. She comes with more than 6 years of experience in the creative writing field and has written extensively for the entertainment and travel domains.

She holds a degree in Chemistry, but her true interest always lay in the creative field. A passion for reading from a young age fueled her desire to make a career change later in life and take up writing as her profession.

Apart from reading, her hobbies include watching movies, listening to music, and going to the beach. In her free time, she can be found looking up reviews of new and old films to add to her watchlist. She also enjoys watching foreign language films that help expand her knowledge base regarding different cultures around the world.

Asked to describe herself, she would promptly mention that she is a die-hard Swiftie and enjoys nothing more than listening to Taylor Swift songs on loop while writing.

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Edited by pratigya dhali