Ben Schnetzer has joined the cast of the upcoming Lily James-led film inspired by the story of Bumble founder and former CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, from 20th Century Studios and Ethea Entertainment.
Schnetzer recently completed the film “The Yellow Tie,” a biopic on the famed Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache. He plays the young version of the legendary classical music conductor, with John Malkovich co-starring as the older version.
His other credits include FX’s apocalyptic sci-fi drama “Y: The Last Man,” as well as Broadway’s “The Nap”, directed by Daniel Sullivan for a production at the Manhattan Theater Club. Additional credits include “Three Body Problem,” “The Riot Club,” “The Grizzlies,” “Goat” and “Pride.”
Rachel Lee Goldberg (“Unpregnant,” “Valley Girl”), who wrote the script alongside Bill Parker and Kim Caramele, will direct. Gala Gordon will executive produce, while James will produce with Jennifer Gibgot and Andrew Panay. Sarah Shepard will oversee the project for 20th Century Studios.
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The film, which is currently in pre-production, will begin shooting in 2024 and is expected to release in 2025.
The film is not biographical and will only take inspiration from Wolfe Herd, who co-founded the dating app Tinder before creating Bumble in 2014. Upon taking the company public in 2021, Wolfe became the world’s youngest female billionaire.
Bumble was billed as a female-focused dating app, only allowing women to make the first move and initiate conversation when matching with men.
Schnetzer is represented by Gersh, Curtis Brown Group in the UK and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.