Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao is currently plotting her next film Hamnet, and this project is showing a lot of promise. The Oscar nominees Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal are in talks to play lead roles in Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s hit novel.
O’Farrell’s bestselling historical fiction novel “charts the emotional, familial and artistic consequences of loss” by telling the story of William Shakespeare’s wife Agnes as she struggles to come to terms with the loss of her only son, Hamnet.
O’Farrell is adapting the script alongside Zhao, who’ll direct the film for Amblin Partners, Hera Pictures, Neal Street Productions, and Book of Shadows, while Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, and Sam Mendes serve as producers.
Paul Mescal’s star has been on the rise since he got his big break with Normal People, and he’s fresh off the success of his Oscar-nominated turn in Aftersun. He has several exciting projects coming up, including Ridley Scott’s highly-anticipated Gladiator sequel.
Jessie Buckley is best known for her Oscar-nominated turn in The Lost Daughter, and we’ve most recently seen her in Salah Polley’s Women Talking. She’ll next star alongside Riz Ahmed in the sci-fi romance Fingernails before reuniting with Olivia Colman in Wicked Little Letters.
