The Son: Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern to lead Florian Zeller drama

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Logan and The Greatest Showman star Hugh Jackman and Oscar-winning actress Laura Dern (Jurassic Park, Little Women) are set to lead Florian Zeller's follow-up to his Oscar-nominated film, The Father. The new film titled The Son is being adapted by Zeller and Oscar-winner Christopher Hampton (Atonement, The Quiet American) from Zeller’s highly-regarded stage play.

The Son centers on Peter (Jackman) as his busy life with new partner Emma and their baby is thrown into disarray when his ex-wife Kate (Dern) turns up with their teenage son, Nicholas. The young man is troubled, distant, and angry, playing truant from school for months. Peter strives to be a better father, searching to help his son with those intimate and instinctive moments of family happiness. But the weight of Nicholas’ condition sets the family on a dangerous course.

“The Son is a deeply human story which, I believe, connects us all; I hope audiences will be profoundly moved by this family’s journey. Both Hugh and Laura naturally convey great warmth, compassion, and vulnerability… inviting our audience to embrace and feel every moment. The story is set in a vibrant and very much alive New York, an important character. The movie should make us call family and friends to tell them that they are wholly loved and not alone,” said Zeller, who serves as the film's writer and director.

Iain Canning, Emile Sherman (Lion, Tracks, Shame), and Joanna Laurie of See-Saw Films produce with Christophe Spadone, in addition to Zeller.

Zeller's debut film The Father was released in the U.S. in February by Sony Pictures Classics. It stars Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss, Imogen Poots, Rufus Sewell, and Ayesha Dharker, and tells the story of a man who refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages. As he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind, and even the fabric of his reality.

If The Son turns out to be nearly as powerful as The Father, one can see how Hollywood will be looking to court Zeller for other star-studded dramas in the years to come. It's been a hot minute since I've seen Hugh Jackman starring in a film where he's not popping his claws as Wolverine, and I welcome the opportunity to see him get serious in a character-driven drama.