EXCLUSIVE: Nathalie Emmanuel and Garrett Hedlund are set to star in The Bride, a Screen Gems horror thriller to be directed by Jessica M. Thompson.
Blair Butler wrote the original script, based on her pitch, with revisions by Thompson. Emile Gladstone is producing.
Inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the pic is a contemporary horror thriller that tells the story of a young woman who is courted and swept off her feet, only to realize a gothic conspiracy is afoot. Given the popularity of the Dracula IP, execs are excited about the possibility of this project, seeing it as a potential franchise, with the studio fast-tracking the movie for an end-of-summer start.
Emmanuel next will be seen in the ninth installment of Fast & Furious and in Army of Thieves, the prequel to Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead. She previously starred as Missandei in HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones; Hulu’s miniseries Four Weddings & a Funeral; and Quibi’s Die Hart, in which she starred opposite Kevin Hart and John Travolta.
Hedlund most recently appeared in Lee Daniels’ The United States vs. Billie Holiday. His other credits include Triple Frontier opposite Ben Affleck, the Oscar-nominated Mudbound and Tron: Legacy. Up next, he will star in The Ploughman opposite Robert Duvall and directed by Ed Harris.
Thompson is best known for The Light of the Moon, her 2017 SXSW Audience Award winner for Best Narrative Feature. Butler’s credits include Polaroid and Marvel’s Helstrom.
Emmanuel is repped by ICM Partners, AJ Management in the UK, Untitled Entertainment and Goodman, Genow. Hedlund is represented by WME, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Sloane Offer. Blair is repped by ICM, Industry Entertainment and Lichter-Grossman. Thompson is repped by CAA, Independent Talent Group, Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.