According to The Hollywood Reporter, Keri Russell is in talks to star in the new Guillermo del Toro produced supernatural horror thriller, Antlers, based on the short story A Quiet Boy by Nick Antosca. Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Black Mass) has already been tapped to direct the film, from a script by Nick Antosca (Channel Zero, The Forest) and Henry Chaisson (Open 24 Hours).
Should the Golden Globe winner sign on, Russell would play “a teacher who takes an interest in a mysterious and withdrawn student. Only too late does she discover that the boy is harboring a deadly secret that is key to their town’s survival.” Del Toro reportedly wanted Cooper to direct the film, as he was interested in using a director that was new to the horror genre, with Foster stating that the film will be heavily influenced by The Exorcist and the collective work of John Carpenter.
Russell has been in high demand of late, following the series finale of The Americans, on which she starred for six years, this May. She has been cast in an unspecified role in JJ Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode IX.
Antlers will mark the first film from the production collaboration between del Toro and Fox Searchlight. Earlier this year it was reported that del Toro would be making and producing horror, fantasy and science fiction movies with Fox Searchlight doing the marketing and distribution. Following the success of The Shape of Water, it’s hard to imagine anything with del Toro’s name attached failing in the near future, and a collaboration with an in demand star like Russell would virtually guarantee a success.
(Photo credit: Getty Images)
