Cinderella actress Lily James and Harry Styles are reportedly pegged to star in Amazon’s newly acquired deal based on the acclaimed novel My Policeman.
It looks like 31-year-old Lily James is in demand right now. While the world awaits her performance for this October’s release of Rebecca on Netflix, a new project is already potentially knocking at her door.
Lily James as part of “My Policeman”
Deadline reports that Amazon has just closed a deal with Berlanti Schechter Productions. The deal involves a currently untitled picture based on Bethan Roberts’ novel entitled My Policeman.
In addition, the publication reports that bagging Lily James and One Direction member, Harry Styles, to co-lead the upcoming film is “in negotiation.”
Pending negotiations, James is eyed to play the female lead role, Marion. Meanwhile, the Adore You singer, Styles, is set to play Tom, the “handsome policeman,” per DigitalSpy.
Accordingly, the movie’s production is set to start next summer. To direct the film, Amazon is tapping award-winning Michael Grandage. Working alongside him is Oscar-nominated writer Ron Nyswaner.
BREAKING: Amazon to produce untitled pic based on the acclaimed novel #MyPoliceman with Harry Styles and Lily James in negotiations to star https://t.co/cZYf5t4wVz
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) September 17, 2020
“My Policeman” storyline
My Policeman is actually a “50s-set queer love story,” per Collider. Tom, potentially played by Styles, will find himself in a complicated love triangle.
As Deadline notes, the gist of the story reads:
“Story takes place in the late 1990s, when the arrival of elderly invalid Patrick into Marion and Tom’s home, triggers the exploration of seismic events from 40 years previous: the passionate relationship between Tom and Patrick at a time when homosexuality was illegal.”
The story will have a “flashback structure.” The present will be set in the 1990s, but the story will revisit moments from Tom and Patrick’s relationship in the 1950s.
Furthermore, the novel entails that Marion has long been smitten of Tom. However, Tom sought it to be “safer” him to marry Marion.
“[I]n an age when those of ‘minority status’ were condemned by society and the law, it is safer for this policeman to marry his teacher. The two lovers must share him, until one of them breaks and three lives are destroyed.”
Harry Styles And Lily James Eyed To Star in 'The Policeman'. The novel is set in Brighton in 1957. Tom Burgess, a policeman, is gay. Marion, a schoolteacher, falls in love with him nonetheless. So does Patrick, a museum curator. Tom is torn between two loves. pic.twitter.com/sNw6nG4fVV
— one perfect scene (@oneperfectscene) September 17, 2020
Lily James in-demand
Aside from Lily James’ magical rendition of Disney‘s classic princess, Cinderella, in 2015, her outstanding performance in Mama Mia! Here We Go Again (2018) was wildly lauded.
Moreover, her portrayal of a young Meryl Streep (as Donna Sheridan) was indeed exceptional.
Before Mama Mia, James starred alongside Divergent star Ansel Elgort in the 2017 action film Baby Driver. In 2019, James was Himesh Patel’s love interest in the rom-com film, Yesterday.
𝐿𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝐼 𝒹𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓂𝓉 𝐼 𝓌𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝑀𝒶𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒶𝑔𝒶𝒾𝓃.
REBECCA, coming to Netflix globally 21 October. pic.twitter.com/fNr6UXO95H
— NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) September 8, 2020
This year, James is expected to appear on Netflix next month for Rebecca. She is set to play the role of the young woman who just married the handsome widower Maxim de Winter.
Her character is challenged to overcome the shadow of Maxim’s first wife Rebecca.
Featured image courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Flickr