Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand are taking on Shakespeare.
The Oscar winners are in talks to star in Joel Coen’s adaptation of “Macbeth.” Coen will direct from his own original script, and expects to shoot the movie before the end of the year. This marks his first film without frequent directing/writing/producing partner and brother Ethan.
A24 will distribute the pic, which Scott Rudin will produce.
The iconic Shakespeare tale follows a lord (Washington) who’s convinced by a trio of witches that he’s destined to become the king of Scotland. With the help of his ambitious wife (McDormand), Macbeth tries to seize the crown by any means necessary.
After taking a brief break, Washington has a busy schedule ahead of him for the foreseeable future. He will first shoot the Warner Bros. thriller “Little Things” in the fall, followed by “Macbeth” at the beginning of 2020. He will then pivot into his next directing job, “Journal for Jordan,” starring Michael B. Jordan.
Washington most recently starred in his first sequel, “The Equalizer 2,” which grossed $190 million worldwide, including $102 million at the domestic box office.
Coen is coming off his Netflix Western “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” which he directed and wrote with Ethan. It earned them an Oscar nomination for adapted screenplay.
Washington is represented by WME, Coen is repped by UTA, and McDormand is repped by UTA and Circle of Confusion. Deadline Hollywood first reported the news.