Chloé Zhao’s ‘Hamnet’ Adaptation Set at Focus With Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley, Steven Spielberg to Produce

Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao will next tackle an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s bestselling novel “Hamnet” for Focus Features, and the project has a robust team in place. Oscar nominees Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal will star in the adaptation alongside Emily Watson and Joe Alwyn, while Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes will produce alongside Liza Marshall and Pippa Harris.

The book is a fictional take on the grief over the death of William Shakespeare’s son Hamnet at the age of 11. Zhao co-wrote the screenplay with O’Farrell.

This marks Zhao’s next film after her one-two punch of 2020’s “Nomadland,” for which she won Best Picture and Best Director Oscars, and 2021’s Marvel movie “Eternals.”

Mescal has “Gladiator II” coming this fall for director Ridley Scott while Buckley, who received an Oscar nomination for her turn in 2021’s “The Lost Daughter,” next stars in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “Frankenstein” twist “The Bride.”

Focus will release “Hamnet” in the U.S. with Universal Pictures International handling the rest of the world. Kristie Macosko Krieger, Nic Gonda and Laurie Borg are executive producers.

The film is produced by Amblin Partners, Hera Pictures and Neal Street Productions in association with Book of Shadows.

On deck for Focus is Pharrell Williams’ unique biographical documentary “Piece by Piece,” which tells his life story using LEGO bricks, as well as Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu,” Edward Berger’s papal drama “Conclave,” Steven Soderbergh’s crime thriller “Black Bag,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ next film “Bugonia” and the third “Downton Abbey” movie.

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