It's been a few years since former SONS OF ANARCHY star Charlie Hunnam has taken point for a high-profile television drama, though we've recently received word that he'll be leading Apple's upcoming series SHANTARAM, based on Gregory David Roberts' best-selling novel. After beating out the competition, Apple is developing the straight-to-series project, which hails from Anonymous Content and Paramount Television.
The story for Roberts' 2004 novel takes place in Australia and India and explores the concepts of love, forgiveness, courage and redemption. According to Deadline, SHANTARAMA is a semi-autobiographical story that tells the tale of Lin (Hunnam), a man on the run from an Australian prison looking to get lost in the teeming city of Bombay. Cut off from family and friends by distance and fate, he finds a new life in the slums, bars and underworld of India.
The project is set to be penned by AMERICAN HUSTLE writer Eric Warren Singer, with Justin Kurzel (ASSASSIN'S CREED) said to be directing the first two episodes of the 10-episode series.
After being published in 39 languages in 42 territories worldwide with 6 million copies sold, the rights to Roberts' story have been of interest to studios for quite some time. In fact, there have already been multiple attempts at creating a feature-length version of Roberts' novel, back in 2004 when Warner Bros. coughed up $2 million for the book rights with Johnny Depp's Inifinitum Nihil and GK Films producing. For a time, Depp was expected to star in the adaptation, but the project was eventually placed on hold due to a writer's strike. Now, with all of the pieces having fallen into place, it sounds as if SHANTARAM will finally see the light of day on Apple's streaming service.
After the September 12 release of director Max Winkler's JUNGLELAND, in which Hunnam stars as a boxing manager named Stanley, the UNDECLARED alum is set to appear in Guy Ritchie's THE GENTLEMEN, a film in which a British drug lord tries to sell off his highly profitable empire to a dynasty of Oklahoma billionaires. THE GENTLEMEN is set for a January 24, 2020 release, with Matthew McConaughey, Michelle Dockery, Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant and Henry Golding also staring in lead roles.