All rise! Michael Keaton joins Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

I'm starting to think that writer/director Aaron Sorkin's (THE SOCIAL NETWORK) upcoming film THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 , is the cinematic equivalent of a black hole. It's a movie that just keeps sucking talented actors into its gravity well. Frank Langella, Mark Rylance, Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt have already joined the cast and now Batman himself, Michael Keaton, has also decided to enter the courtroom drama.

Keaton (BIRDMAN) is set to play progressive lawyer Ramsey Clark, the Attorney General of the United States during Lyndon Johnson's administration and a prominent figure during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. It's unclear as to how significant a role Keaton's character will have in Sorkin's film as this is shaping up to be a true ensemble piece. Michael Keaton also joins William Hurt (A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE) in the director's upcoming feature. Hurt will play John Mitchell, President Richard Nixon's Attorney General. Mitchell was an infamous historical figure who advocated the use of wiretaps without court orders and brought conspiracy charges against critics of the Vietnam War.

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 follows the 1969 trial of seven defendants for countercultural protests during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The seven were charged with a multitude of felonies including conspiracy. The landmark trial captivated the entire nation.

While Aaron Sorkin's certainly made a name for himself over the years as a screenwriter, this will mark just his second big screen directorial effort after 2017's MOLLY'S GAME. With such an amazing cast attached to this project and Sorkin at the helm, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 is almost certain to be in the Oscar race next year.

Production on THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 got underway just last week and the film is slated for release October 2, 2020.