Whiplash director Damien Chazelle is said to be working on a prison film, with Cillian Murphy as well as Daniel Craig in talks to star.
For a while, it sounded as though Damien Chazelle had two major projects close to going into production: a prison movie and a film about the legendarily accident prone stunt rider, Evel Knievel. The idea being, presumably, that Chazelle could embark on one project if the other happened to fall through.
According to recent reports, it’s the prison drama that’s closest to happening. Leonardo DiCaprio was in talks to take the motorcycle-riding lead in the Evel Knievel movie, but according to Deadline, it’s been put on hold because Paramount was “unable to make a deal.”
It’s thought that the untitled prison film, written by Chazelle himself, could go into production later this year, and so negotiations are underway with some major actors. Daniel Craig was said to be in talks just a few days ago, but it’s now being reported that Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy is also under discussion.
Read more: Old movies to watch before Babylon
Little else is known about the film at present – even the bit about it being set in a prison hasn’t been confirmed at this stage – but it’s likely to be a more contained production following 2022’s Babylon. A star-laden historical epic about shattered dreams, stardom and vulgar excess in Hollywood, it took place over a 30-year period, ran for over three hours and featured such big names as Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Olivia Wilde.
Failing to make back its estimated $78m budget, at least in cinemas, Babylon was widely depicted as a creative failure for the director of such critical darlings as Whiplash, La La Land and First Man, though the film rightly has its champions.
In the wake of that film’s release, Chazelle said in 2024, “I’m in a sort of trepidatious state of mind, but I have no illusions. I won’t get a budget of Babylon size any time soon, or at least not on this next one.”
If either Cillian Murphy or Daniel Craig sign on the dotted line, then the filmmaker’s next opus could be in production within months. We’ll bring you more on Chazelle’s creative exploits as we get it.
