EXCLUSIVE: Chiwetel Ejiofor (Rob Peace), Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) and Jacob Tremblay (The Toxic Avenger) have joined the cast of The Life of Chuck, the latest of many Stephen King adaptations from filmmaker Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep), which kicked off production in Alabama under an interim agreement earlier this month. Tom Hiddleston and Mark Hamill lead the ensemble of the pic, written and directed by Flanagan, as we were first to tell you.
Also now involved is QWGmire, the production and financing entity known for the indie horror Agnes and the forthcoming Lovely, Dark and Deep, which has made a major equity investment in the independently financed feature.
Stated QWGmire partners Molly C. Quinn, Matthew M. Welty and Elan Gale, “We are thrilled to partner with Mike and Trevor [Macy] on this project. Mike is a master storyteller and we can’t wait to bring his inspirational adaptation of Stephen King’s short story to audiences.”
Based on three interconnected stories from King’s 2020 anthology If It Bleeds, The Life of Chuck examines the existence of its subject Charles Krantz in reverse, beginning with his death aged 39 from a brain tumor and ending with his childhood in a house believed to be haunted. Flanagan is set to produce the feature adaptation alongside his long-time Intrepid Pictures partner, Macy. WME Independent is repping domestic sales, with FilmNation Entertainment overseeing the international front.
Best known for his Academy Award-nominated role in 12 Years a Slave, Ejiofor’s recent credits include the Showtime sci-fi drama series The Man Who Fell to Earth, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and the Sundance-opening sci-fi rom-com The Pod Generation with Emilia Clarke. Starring alongside Camila Cabello, Michael Kelly and more in Rob Peace, his sophomore feature on the heels of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, he’ll also soon be seen in Netflix’s The Old Guard 2 and a Venom threequel from Sony.
Gillan over the summer closed out her run as Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Nebula in the James Gunn-helmed Vol. 3, which grossed over $845M worldwide. Other recent credits for the actress include The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Thor: Love and Thunder and the Mali Elfman-helmed indie genre-bender Next Exit. She’ll next be seen in the Lisa Steen comedy Late Bloomers, which world premiered at SXSW earlier this year, and also stars up opposite Russell Crowe in the forthcoming crime thriller Sleeping Dogs.
Coming to The Life of Chuck after collaborating with Intrepid on its films Before I Wake and Doctor Sleep, Tremblay also stars opposite Peter Dinklage in Macon Blair’s take on The Toxic Avenger, which opened Fantastic Fest in September. Best known for roles in films like Room, Wonder, and Good Boys, the actor has additionally been set to voice roles in Laika’s Wildwood and Netflix & DreamWorks’ Orion and the Dark, a fantasy comedy scripted by Charlie Kaufman.
Founded in 2019, QWGmire’s debut feature was the espionage drama Diary of a Spy. The company was also previously behind the horror pic Agnes, starring Quinn and Haley McFarland, about cases of demonic possession at a religious convent. Up next for release is its horror pic Lovely, Dark, and Deep from filmmaker Teresa Sutherland, which stars Barbarian‘s Georgina Campbell.
Ejiofor is represented by CAA in the U.S., Markham, Froggatt and Irwin in the UK, and attorneys Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum. Gillan is repped by UTA, Maison Two, Linden Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman. Tremblay is with UTA, Play Management in Vancouver, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.