It’s difficult to imagine, but Xavier Dolan’s (Mommy) English-language debut The Death and Life of John F. Donovan cast has grown even more impressive. According to Deadline, Natalie Portman (Annihilation), Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: Apocalypse), and Thandie Newton (For Colored Girls) have joined the picture.
The film follows John F. Donovan (Kit Harington, MI-5), an American TV star who shares a correspondence with an 11-year old fan in England. When their pen-pal relationship leaks, the world assumes the worst and Donovan’s career takes a dive. Jessica Chastain (Crimson Peak) joined the project September 2014 with Kathy Bates (The Boss) and Susan Sarandon (About Ray) joining shortly after.
Portman has a busy year ahead of her with Terrance Malick’s Knight of Cups, Weightless and The Heyday of Insensitive Bastards all set to release this year. She’s currently shooting the Jacqueline Kennedy biopic Jackie as the former First Lady. She’s also set to star in the science fiction novel adaptation Annihilation. Hoult is also busy with X-Men: Apocalypse releasing this spring and he will play J.D. Salinger in the biopic Rebel in the Rye. Newton’s film career has been rather quiet though she will appear in the upcoming HBO series Westworld.
No release date has been announced for The Death and Life of John Donovan. We’ll have more on the project as it develops.