How many movies focusing on the ongoing opioid epidemic does Hollywood need? One more, according to filmmaker David Yates. After production wraps on the third Fantastic Beasts film, Sony’s go-to director for all things Harry Potter will mount a new drama for the studio. According to Deadline, Yates is in talks to direct an untitled original film for Sony Pictures. Written by Wells Tower, sources say the film is in the vein of Wolf of Wall Street and will revolve around the world of pharmaceutical sales and the opioid epidemic.
The untitled project would serve as Yates’ second non-Harry Potter film project in the last decade. The odd film out being 2016’s The Legend of Tarzan, of course. Strangely, the opioid-related film will serve as a breath of fresh air for Yates. After all, he’s spent an absurd amount of time around wizards and mythical creatures for the past ten years. Yates plans on shooting his opioid film before starting work on Fantastic Beasts 4.
Details are thin on the plot, but sources say that the lead role will attract every high-end actress across Hollywood. Casting calls are expected to begin soon, with plans to set an A-list cast.
Yates is known for helming the last four Harry Potter films, including Harry Potter films: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. After that, Sony convinced film to stay on as the director for both Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
The third film in the franchise is set to be released in 2022. Several members of the main cast are set to return, including Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Katherine Waterson, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, and Alison Sudol. Mads Mikkelsen will replace Johnny Depp as the villain Gellert Grindelwald.