Jared Leto will direct 77, a long gestating James Ellroy script
Jared Leto, who recently made his DC Comics movie debut as the Joker in David Ayer‘s Suicide Squad, has today lined up his first directorial feature with the long-gestating James Ellroy project 77. The Hollywood Reporter has the news, offering the following synopsis for the crime thriller:
Set in politically charged 1974 Los Angeles, the story centers around two police officers who team up to recover kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst while simultaneously investigating the brutal murder of a fellow officer. They uncover not only relentless corruption and crime but a dark and violent conspiracy as well.
RELATED: Jared Leto to Star in Andy Warhol Biopic for Terrence Winter
Development on 77 began nearly two decades ago when Ellroy was hired by Paramount Pictures to provide the original screenplay. Since then, Narcos scribe David Matthews has done a rewrite. The film will be produced by Wolf Films’ Dick Wolf and Tony Ganz of alongside Leto himself though his Paradox label. Paradox’s Emma Ludbrook will serve as 77‘s executive producer.
The trade does not note whether or not Leto has any plans to star in 77 as well as direct. An Academy Award winner for his work in Dallas Buyers Club, Leto can be seen later this year in director Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049. Also starring Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Carla Juri, Lennie James and Dave Bautista, the follow-up to Ridley Scott’s genre-defining 1982 sci-fi thriller hits theaters October 6. Leto also recently signed on to play Andy Warhol in a biopic that The Wolf of Wall Street scribe Terrence Winter is attached to direct.
Does 77 sound like a film you’ll want to check out on the big screen? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
