Today the cast has been announced for the upcoming film adaptation of the award-winning novel Strangers, by Japanese novelist Taichi Yamada. The film is set to star Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy, and Jamie Bell. Acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Haigh has adapted the script and will direct.
Strangers is based on the 2004 English translation of Yamada’s 1987 novel. The original novel was first adapted into a Japanese language film in 1988. This new film is said to take the plot of the novel but adapts it to be set in contemporary London, rather than the original 80s Tokyo. Strangers will follow Adam (Scott), a screenwriter who lives alone in a tower block in London. Adam’s life begins to get knocked off course after a run-in with a mysterious neighbor (Mescal). After the pair grow closer, Adam discovers two people who look like his parents (Foy and Bell), who died over thirty years prior, living in his childhood house.
Scott is known for his breakout role as The Priest on Fleabag. He is also known for series like Sherlock and His Dark Materials. Mescal is also known for a recent breakout role in the Hulu series Normal People and the film The Lost Daughter. Foy is a two-time Emmy-winning actress who gained critical acclaim while playing Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix series The Clown. Bell is a BAFTA-winning actor who recently starred in films like Rocketman and Without Remorse.
Haigh is a BAFTA-nominated and critically acclaimed director who is making his return to film with Strangers. In recent years he has directed the BBC miniseries The North Water starring Colin Farrell. He also directed episodes of the series Netflix fantasy series The OA. He has also directed the critically acclaimed drama Lean on Pete and directed Charlotte Rampling to an academy award-nominated performance in 45 Years. His past writing credits include The North Water, Lean on Pete, and 45 Years.
Strangers is being produced by Graham Broadbent and Pete Czernin for Blueprint, alongside Sarah Harvey. Executive producers on the film include Ben Knight and Diarmuid McKeown for Blueprint and Ollie Madden, Daniel Battsek, and Farhana Bhula for Film4. DanTram Nguyen and Katie Goodson-Thomas will be overseeing the production of the film for Searchlight with Jaya Campbell, Apolline Berty, and Kim Tance.
Currently, Strangers does not have any announced production start or release window. Stay tuned to Collider for any future updates on this project.