The Father director Florian Zeller is already looking ahead to his next film, aptly named The Son, which has just grabbed Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern as its leads. The Son is based on Zeller's play of the same name, and is about the character of Nicolas, who is going through a difficult period after his parents’ divorce. Zeller is also reteaming with Christopher Hampton, his co-writer on The Father, which is currently nominated at this year's Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay.
After years of writing plays and novels, Zeller made his feature film debut with The Father — an adaptation of his own French play that premiered in 2014. The film and its performances received rave reviews, and is nominated for six Academy Awards this year. It’s clear that Zeller fully transitioning into the film medium, and expectations are high after his debut feature. Reteaming with Hampton is a sure sign of future success, as Hampton has already won an Academy Award for his work on Dangerous Liaisons.
After working with high-profile actors like Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman, Zeller has once again chosen top-notch performers to join him for his second film. Dern is coming off her well-deserved Oscar win for Marriage Story, and will reignite all our teenage fantasies by returning to the dinosaur universe in Jurassic World: Dominion, which just finished filming late last year.
This is also another excellent project choice for Jackman, who has been diversifying his filmography since he hung up his claws as Wolverine in 2017’s Logan. He particularly shone in HBO’s Bad Education, for which he received an Emmy Award nomination. He’s currently sticking with the streaming service for his next film Reminiscence, a dark thriller written and directed by Westworld’s Lisa Joy. Fans more attuned to his The Greatest Showman performances will also rejoice to hear that Jackman’s The Music Man revival is still set to premiere on Broadway for the fall season. His versatility is simply astounding, and The Son and his other new projects will likely showcase the range of his many talents as well.
The Son has no release date yet, but The Father is currently available in theaters and on-demand.