Oscar winner Clint Eastwood, who turns 93 years old this May, is preparing to direct the legal drama Juror No. 2, which is widely expected to be his final film behind the camera.
Nicholas Hoult, whose Renfield opens today, will star as a juror in a murder trial who realizes that he may have caused the victim’s death. He must decide whether to reveal the truth and turn himself in, or manipulate the jury to save himself. Toni Collette is set to play the prosecutor who’s gunning for a “guilty” verdict.
Eastwood is producing Juror No. 2 with former Paramount exec Adam Goodman, as well as Tim Moore and Jessica Meier. Production is being eyed to start in mid-June shortly after Eastwood’s 93rd birthday, which would make him one of the oldest filmmakers still working, though rest assured, he already is. He’s also a true inspiration to artists everywhere — don’t ever let them tell you when you’re finished.
Though Eastwood was preparing to retire after the muted reception toward his 2021 drama Cry Macho, which premiered on HBO Max, he felt it important to go out on a stronger note, and he quickly sparked to Jonathan Abrams‘ screenplay when he came across it, though some rewrites were required to get the script to where Eastwood wanted it to be.
Frankly, it’s a relief to see Warner Bros. financing this film and continuing its stories association with Eastwood, as I feared that new management might kick him to the curb with an eye toward the bottom line. Fortunately, loyalty still exists in this town, where Eastwood has delivered a string of hits for Warners, including both Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby, which won Best Picture and brought Clint a pair of Oscars for Best Director, too.
Eastwood’s dramas Mystic River, American Sniper, and Letters From Iwo Jima were all nominated for Best Picture, and I wouldn’t be shocked if Warner Bros. found a way to revive the Dirty Harry franchise one of these days, though the Eastwood movie they should really be looking to revisit is the director’s debut, Play Misty for Me, which is now streaming on Netflix.
In addition to Renfield, which pairs him with Nicolas Cage and Awkwafina, Hoult will soon be seen in another vampire movie — Robert Eggers‘ Nosferatu, which stars Bill Skarsgård, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, and Willem Dafoe.
Collette also has a movie opening on Friday — Mafia Mamma from director Catherine Hardwicke. She recently wrapped another WB movie — Bong Joon Ho‘s sci-fi film Mickey 17 starring Robert Pattinson — and she’ll soon be seen in Amazon’s fantasy drama series The Power.
Hoult is represented by UTA, while Collette is repped by CAA. Giant Freakin Robot broke the news.
