Al Pacino and Jessica Chastain will star in Lear Rex, a new adaptation of William Shakespeare’s King Lear.
Per Deadline, Pacino will play the titular character in the forthcoming Lear Rex, while Chastain has been cast as Goneril. More casting is expected to be announced at a later date.
The movie is being written and directed by Bernard Rose, who previously made 1992’s Candyman, 1994’s Immortal Beloved, 1997’s Anna Karenina, 2010’s Mr. Nice, and more.
What is Lear Rex about?
“In Lear Rex, an aging King divides his land between his three daughters to prevent future strife. But he rejects the young daughter who loves him and places his trust in her malevolent sisters, who strip him of his power and condemn him to a wretched wasteland of horror and insanity,” the description reads.
The film is expected to begin filming in Los Angeles this summer. Barry Navidi is producing the movie.
“This project has been Al’s labor of love for over a decade,” Navidi said. “I am overjoyed to bring this amazing venture to the screen with Bernard Rose’s brilliant adaptation and bold unique vision. I am so excited to team up again with Jess since Pacino’s Wilde Salome.”
Rose added, “Al and I are going to make a bold, cinematic Lear that will be as accessible, moving, and powerful as the play was for its original audiences. I am thrilled to have Jessica Chastain join us on this journey. The devotion myself and everyone I know have for The Godfather, Heat, and many of his other films, Pacino puts into Shakespeare. He believes those masterworks should be ‘tried more often’ in film’ in order to ‘take the humanity that Shakespeare writes into characters and express it.’”
Lear Rex does not yet have an official release date.
