According to Deadline, Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts director David Yates will be taking a break from the world of wizards, beasts and muggles to direct an untitled original film for Sony. While the plot is unknown, it is said to be a Wolf of Wall Street style film “set in the world of pharmaceutical sales and the opioid epidemic.”
The opportunity came about after Yates recently wrapped production on Fantastic Beasts 3 and was told by WB there would be a production break between the third and fourth installments, a change of pace given the somewhat back-to-back schedules of Yates’ Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films. Deadline notes the Sony film offered him a chance to direct something much more lowkey and small compared to the wizarding films. His only other non-Potter project in the last decade was 2016’s The Legend of Tarzan with Alexander Skarsgård and Margot Robbie.
The film has been written by Wells Tower with Yates co-producing through his company Wychwood Media. It will be produced by Grey Matter Productions’ Lawrence Grey with Ben Everard and Lewis Taylor executive producing. Co-producing alongside Yates are Cyrus Mojibi, Patrick Wade, Lawrence Kao and Lloyd Everard.
Once finalized, the film is said to begin production in Spring 2022.
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
Originally published August 19, 2021. Updated August 18, 2021.
