Oscar winner Julianne Moore and Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard are attached to play mother and son in the indie movie When You Finish Saving the World, which will mark the directorial debut of Jesse Eisenberg.
Emma Stone and her fiancé Dave McCary (Brigsby Bear) will produce the film with Moore, and CAA Media Finance will arrange the financing and handle worldwide sales. Eisenberg is writing the script, which is based on his upcoming Audible Original of the same name, though the film's plot will diverge somewhat from the audio series. Set over three decades, the six-part series follows three members of a family -- Nathan, a father learning to connect with his newborn son; Rachel, a young college student seeking her place in life; and Ziggy, a teenager hoping to figure out where he came from, and where he's headed.
Eisenberg, Wolfhard and Kaitlyn Dever voice the three leads on the Audible show, and it's interesting to me that the film version will focus on a new character (Moore) and her relationship with her son (Wolfhard).
Eisenberg happens to be accomplished author, playwright and humorist, and I think he's well-suited to direct, as he's one of the most intelligent actors I've ever interviewed along with Edward Norton, who just made his directorial debut last year. Eisenberg has certainly paid his dues in this industry, and I look forward to seeing what he brings to the table as a storyteller and filmmaker. There's no shortage of A-list directors he can ask for advice, mind you.
Eisenberg currently stars in the indie thriller Vivarium as well as the Marcel Marceau biopic-cum-war drama Resistance. Moore will soon be seen as Gloria Steinem in The Glorias, while Stone has wrapped Disney's live-action Cruella, which is slated to hit theaters next May. She and Eisenberg go way back, having worked together on the Zombieland movies.
As for Wolfhard, he was in the middle of filming the fourth season of Stranger Things when the coronavirus pandemic forced Netflix to suspend production. The 17-year-old actor, who may remind some of a young Eisenberg, recently starred in WB's drama The Goldfinch and Amblin's horror movie The Turning, and he'll soon be seen playing Carrie Coon's son in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which has been delayed from July to March due to widespread theater closures.
CAA represents Eisenberg and Wolfhard, while WME reps Stone and Moore, who are respectively managed by Anonymous Content and Management 360. Wolfhard is managed by Ryan Thompson, while McCary is repped by Mosaic. Deadline broke the news of the hot new package, and you can click here to read Collider's review of Vivarium.