True History of the Kelly Gang (Justin Kurzel, 2018)

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Oscar winner Russell Crowe and Captain Fantastic actor George MacKay have signed to star in director Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang, along with Nicholas Hoult and Essie Davis. The script is by Shaun Grant, based on Peter Carey’s Booker Prize-winning novel, and follows notorious bushranger Ned Kelly (MacKay), one of the world’s greatest outlaws, and the colonial badlands from which he rose.

The cast also includes Travis Fimmel (Vikings), Sean Keenan (Strangerland), Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things), Harry Greenwood (Hacksaw Ridge), Thomasin McKenzie (My Abandonment) and Earl Cave (Born to Kill). Director Justin Kurzel is know for Snowtown (2011), Macbeth (2015) and Assassin's Creed (2016).

Filming will take place Victoria, Australia in March. Producers are Liz Watts from Porchlight Films, Hal Vogel from Daybreak Pictures, and Romulus Entertainment’s Brad Feinstein. Peter Carey, David Aukin, Vincent Sheehan, and Joseph F. Ingrassia will serve as executive producers.

Romulus Entertainment is financing the project with a production investment from Screen Australia, in association with Film Victoria and Film4.

Rocket Science will handle international sales, while CAA, which arranged for the film’s financing, will represent the U.S. rights. The pic will be distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Transmission Films.

Crowe, who won the Oscar for his role in Gladiator, was recently seen in Universal’s The Mummy reboot and up next has the Joel Edgerton-directed drama Boy Erased. MacKay’s upcoming slate includes Ophelia, alongside Daisy Ridley and Naomi Watts, and Where Hands Touch, opposite Amandla Stenberg and Abbie Cornish.