Paul Dano, the actor and director known for his roles in There Will Be Blood, Prisoners and for his film Wildlife, is set to star as a fictional version of Steven Spielberg’s father in an upcoming semi-autobiographical film about the director’s family and upbringing. Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen will also star in the upcoming movie. 

The film, which is set in late 50s/early 60s Arizona, will have Williams play a version of Spielberg’s Mother and Rogen playing a version of his favorite uncle. There will also be a fictional version of Spielberg himself, but the character will go by a different name. 

Long-time fans of the director may know what to expect from the film. The director’s childhood in Arizona is considered a critical part of his life in which he started making movies with friends on a Super 8 camera and his parent’s marriage began to fall apart. 

The screenplay was co-written by Spielberg and Tony Kushner. The two will also produce the project with Kristie Macosko Krieger from Amblin Partners. Production is expected to begin this summer with a release planned for 2022, and the project will likely be distributed through Universal. 

Spielberg and Kushner are also working on another project together, an adaptation of the musical West Side Story with Rachel Zegler as Maria and Ansel Elgort as Tony. The adaptation was originally supposed to release late last year, but was pushed back to December 2021 due to the pandemic. 

Dano is also set to appear as the Riddler in the highly anticipated Batman film from Matt Reeves, which stars Robert Pattinson as the titular Bat. That film is set to open early next year on March 4, 2022.