Chloe Zhao’s follow-up to Marvel’s Eternals has added some major stars. On Monday, reports confirmed that Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal are in talks to star in Hamnet, a new drama film that will be directed and co-written by Zhao. Buckley recently appeared in projects like The Lost Daughter and Women Talking, while Mescal’s filmography includes Aftersun, Normal People, and the upcoming Gladiator sequel.
This will be Zhao’s first feature film since 2021’s Eternals, which debuted in Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She previously found success with 2020’s Nomadland, which saw her win Best Director and Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
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What is Hamnet about?
Hamnet is a historical fiction novel imagineing the story of Agnes – the wife of the world’s most famous writer, William Shakespeare – as she struggles to come to terms with the loss of her only son, Hamnet. The novel charts the emotional, familial and artistic consequences of that loss, bringing to life a human and heart-stopping story as the backdrop to the creation of Shakespeare’s most famous play, Hamlet.
Hamnet will be an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel of the same name. Zhao will be writing the screenplay alongside O’Farrell, and Amblin Partners, Hera Pictures, Neal Street Productions and Book of Shadows will all be producing. Liza Marshall (The End We Start From), Pippa Harris (1917) and Sam Mendes (1917) are producing, and Nic Gonda (Tree of Life) is executive producing for Book of Shadows. Jeb Brody, Amblin’s president of production, and Mia Maniscalco, SVP of creative affairs, will oversee the project on behalf of the studio.
Will there be an Eternals 2?
An Eternals sequel has yet to officially be greenlit by Marvel Studios, despite reports from some of the film’s cast indicating that it might be on the way. Zhao, meanwhile, has taken a diplomatic approach to the possibility.
“No comment,” Zhao said in an interview earlier this year. “When you’re in Marvel and when you’re dealing with an audience that big, I truly treasure and respect that each of us is so unique. It’s exciting that we’re all so different, and we’re all changing and growing every day. But with a global audience, it’s almost impossible to make everybody perfectly happy, and to do that is to say that everyone is the same. So I think there’s inevitably going to be that [difference of opinion], and you just have to stay true to the kind of film you want to make and who you are and the people you’re collaborating with. That’s all you can do, really, and have a good time. Everything else is out of your control.”
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h/t: Deadline
