With a strong cast already led by Benedict Cumberbatch (Avengers: Endgame), Jesse Plemons (Game Night) and Kirsten Dunst (On Becoming a God in Central Florida), Netflix’s The Power of the Dog has expanded further with the additions of Kodi Smit-McPhee (Dark Phoenix), Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit) and Frances Conroy (Joker), according to Deadline.
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Jane Campion (The Piano, Top of the Lake) wrote the screenplay and will direct the project. The book, written by Thomas Savage, tells a story of wealthy Montana brothers Phil (Cumberbatch) and George Burbank. Phil is brilliant and cruel, while George is fastidious and gentle. Together, they are joint owners of the biggest ranch in their Montana valley. When George secretly marries local widow Rose (Dunst), an angry Phil wages a relentless war to destroy her by using her son Peter as a pawn.
In addition to Smit-McPhee, Thomasin and Conroy, the roster has grown with Keith Carradine (The Old Man and the Gun), Peter Carroll (Crazy Rich Asians) and Adam Beach (Suicide Squad).
The project comes from See-Saw Films and Big Shell Films/Max Films in association with Brightstar. Roger Frappier of Max Films, who originally had the rights to the novel, offered the property to Campion after the two meet at a recent Cannes Film Festival. Tanya Seghatchian of Brightstar will produce, with Emile Sherman and Iain Canning driving the financing and physical production.
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BBC Films has also helped develop the production, with BBC Films’ rose Garnett, Simon Gillis of See-Saw and John Woodward of Brightstar serving as executive producers. The Power of the Dog will go into pre-production at the end of this year.
Netflix will release The Power of the Dog in 2021 on Netflix and in theaters. Transmission Films will release theatrically in Australia and New Zealand.
(Photo Credit: Backgrid Images)
