Tony winner Hugh Jackman and Oscar winner Laura Dern will star in a movie adaptation of The Son, the third in Florian Zeller’s trilogy of family dramas. Christopher Hampton will again team up with the French writer to translate the work from stage to screen after their success with The Father, currently up for six Academy Awards including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture.
Deadline reports Jackman will play Peter, father to son Nicholas who is going through a difficult phase after his parents’ divorce. Dern plays Kate, Nicholas’ mother and Peter’s ex-wife. Zeller is set to direct.
The play is the third chapter in Florian Zeller's family drama trilogy, having concluded a West End run in 2019 at the Duke of York's Theatre.
“The Son is a deeply human story which, I believe, connects us all,” says Zeller. “I hope audiences will be profoundly moved by this family’s journey. Both Hugh and Laura naturally convey great warmth, compassion, and vulnerability… inviting our audience to embrace and feel every moment. The story is set in a vibrant and very much alive New York, an important character. The movie should make us call family and friends to tell them that they are wholly loved and not alone.”
The King’s Speech Oscar winners Iain Canning and Emile Sherman and Joanna Laurie of See-Saw Films are set to produce The Son with Christophe Spadone alongside Zeller. Film4 is co-financing production. Cross City Films and Embankment are launching international sales, with Cross City Films and CAA Media Finance co-representing U.S. rights.
The other play in the trilogy, The Mother, played Off-Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company in 2019, with Isabelle Huppert starring.
