Joe and Anthony Russo have picked their next film as directors following Avengers: Endgame – and Apple has stumped up big bucks to secure it.
Apple has, according to Deadline, reportedly shelled out upwards of $40 million to secure the rights to a new project called Cherry. This is the next film by the Russo brothers, directors of Avengers: Endgame, the giant Marvel film that currently holds the top spot in the all-time highest-grossing films list.
Whilst this particular project is certainly more modest, Apple may have one eye on awards success for the film It’s a dark drama that sees an Iraqi war veteran return home with PTSD, fall into drug addiction and begin a life of bank holdups. The movie is adapted from a book by Nico Walker, based on his own life story. The author is currently still incarcerated for his crimes.
Tom Holland, with whom the Russos also worked on during Avengers: Endgame of course, is set to star. Holland is currently enjoying a positive response to his dramatic turn in Netflix’s The Devil All The Time. Clara Bravo and Bill Skarsgard are also set to feature.
The film is thought to be set for release early in 2021, although with worldwide rights keeping it on the nascent Apple TV+ platform, it may not get the same profile as a wide theatrical release, or indeed, as on other streaming services.
Nonetheless, the company has eclipsed all other bidders for this finished film, and it makes for an interesting purchase, most notably in a year which hasn’t seen many outright awards contenders come to the fore. Could this perhaps be Apple’s play for major awards contention? More news on this one as we have it.
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