According to Deadline, Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins has officially signed on to join Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern in director Florian Zeller’s upcoming film adaptation of his award-winning stage play The Son. This marks the second collaboration between Hopkins and the French filmmaker, who previously worked together in the critically-acclaimed 2020 film The Father.
In addition, Zen McGrath (Dig) has also been cast for the titular role as the teenage son of Jackman and Dern’s characters. Production on the film has already been completed.
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The Son is directed by Florian Zeller from a screenplay he co-wrote with Oscar winner Christopher Hampton. The original play first opened in London in 2019 and, like his previous stage plays, earned rave reviews. The upcoming film stars Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, and Vanessa Kirby.
“The film centers around Peter, whose busy life with new partner Emma and their baby is thrown into disarray when his ex-wife Kate turns up with their teenage son, Nicholas,” reads the synopsis. “The young man is troubled, distant and angry, playing truant from school for months. Peter strives to be a better father, searching to help his son with those intimate and instinctive moments of family happiness. But the weight of Nicholas’ condition sets the family on a dangerous course.”
The adaptation will be produced by See-Saw’s Iain Canning and Emile Sherman along with Christophe Spadone, who is reuniting with Zeller after last year’s The Father. Producers are Joanna Laurie and Christophe Spadone.
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Zeller’s feature directorial debut The Father was based on his award-winning 2012 play Le Père and starred Oscar winners Olivia Colman and Anthony Hopkins. The film has previously won two Oscars out of six nominations including Best Actor for Hopkins and Best Adapted Screenplay for Zeller and Hampton.
