Hot off the heels of the Tribeca premiere of her film Italian Studies, Vanessa Kirby has been cast in director Florian Zeller’s new film The Son. She will be acting alongside the previously announced Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern in an adaptation of Zeller’s stage play.

Kirby will play Emma, the new wife of businessman Peter (Jackman), who recently gave birth to the couple’s first child. However, Peter’s past comes back to haunt him after his ex-wife Kate (Dern) and their teenage son re-enter his life. She wants him to help their troubled son, who has become distant and cold following their divorce.

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Image via Universal

RELATED: Vanessa Kirby’s 'Mission: Impossible 7' Return Teased in New Chris McQuarrie Set PhotoIn a statement to Variety, Zeller expressed excitement over Kirby’s casting. “Vanessa Kirby is for me a very great actress: intense, inventive and powerful,” he said, “I am especially happy to take her on this cinematic adventure.” Producer Joanna Laurie also provided a statement on the casting, saying that she is “very excited to add Vanessa to the already exceedingly talented cast of Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern in bringing this story to life.”

If all goes well, this supporting role could snag Kirby her second Oscar nomination. Her first was for Kornél Mundruczó’s English-language debut, Pieces of a Woman, in which she portrayed a grieving woman following the death of her newborn child. Given how Zeller’s feature debut The Father snagged six nominations and two wins, an awards season darling might already be in the works.

Further details on The Son, including who will play the titular role and when the film is expected to begin production, are currently unknown. To get familiar with the play before its film adaptation arrives, read the synopsis given by London’s Kiln Theatre during its 2019 West End production:

“Nicolas is going through a difficult phase after his parents’ divorce. He’s listless, skipping school, lying and thinks that moving in with his father and his new family may help. A fresh start. When he doesn’t settle there either, he decides that going back to his mother’s may be the answer. When change feels like the only way to survive, what will he do when the options begin to run out?"

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