Before Clint Eastwood sunsets his career as a director, he’s prepping a last hoorah at Warner Bros to go out with a bang. The 92-year-old filmmaker, who directed Gran Torino, Sully, The Bridges of Madison Country, and more, is prepping Juror No. 2, a legal drama featuring two of Hollywood’s hottest stars. After an exhaustive, months-long process to find the right combination of actors, Nicholas Hoult (Renfield, Mad Max: Fury Road) and Toni Collette (Hereditary, Knives Out) will join the cast.
Clint Eastwood directs from a script by Jonathan Abrams (Destination Wedding, Escape Plan), with a story during a murder trial. When one of the jurors (Hoult) seeks to protect the defendant without putting himself in jeopardy, he progressively realizes he may have caused the victim’s death in a careless driving accident. With the dark truth looming, the juror must decide to lie and reveal the truth about the case. Does he turn himself in? Does he let the defendant hang? Collette will play the prosecutor in the complicated legal matter.
Eastwood hopes to roll cameras by mid-June, making him 93 when filming kicks into high gear. For those of you keeping score, Eastwood will be one of the oldest filmmakers working in Hollywood when Juror No. 2 makes Hoult’s character sweat through a crisis of conscience.
Eastwood’s last movie, Cry Macho, did not go over well with audiences and critics. Rather than let sleeping dogs lie, Eastwood wants to end his directing career with his cowboy hat held high. After fielding several scripts, Eastwood zeroed in on Jonathan Abrams and set to work on rewrites to change the ages of certain characters and add a supporting role. Initially, Eastwood wanted Charlize Theron, but that ship has sailed.
In addition to directing the legal drama, Eastwood produces with Adam Goodman, Tim Moore, and Jessica Meier.
Are you interested in Eastwood’s final turn as a director? Would you tell the truth if you discovered you were responsible for another person’s death? If you stay quiet, you could have a “Telltale Heart” situation on your hands, and no one wants that. Sound off in the comments, and let us know which path you’d choose.