After trying his hand with a Hollywood blockbuster in Assassin’s Creed, director Justin Kurzel is heading back to his native Australia for his next film, reuniting with his Snowtown screenwriter for The True History of the Kelly Gang, which is based on Peter Carey’s Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name and tells the story of the notorious outlaw Ned Kelly and his gang.
George MacKay (Captain Fantastic) is set to lead the cast as Kelly, and will star in the film alongside Russell Crowe (Gladiator), Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road), Travis Fimmel (Vikings), Essie Davis (The Babadook), Sean Keenan (Strangerland), Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things), Harry Greenwood (Hacksaw Ridge, upcoming The Nightingale), Thomasin McKenzie (My Abandonment, The Changeover) and Earl Cave (Born to Kill).
“Peter Carey’s book The True History of the Kelly Gang always felt like the true spirit of Ned Kelly,” states Kurzel. “Unsentimental, brutal, raw and visceral. His story is one of the great odysseys in history, and I feel excited to be bringing it to the screen with a fresh cinematic eye. This is a really unique and modern cast, and I am so proud to be working with such a talented ensemble of new faces and celebrated actors.”
“It’s no surprise that this piece of material attracted such an incredibly talented cadre of artists. It’s a masterful interpretation of the life of a fabled outlaw,” added Rocket Science’s Thorsten Schumacher. “This epic western will perform in territories across the globe and we are thrilled to be presenting it.”
Filming on The True History of the Kelly Gang is set to get underway in March 2018 in Victoria, Australia.
Originally published November 9, 2017. Updated April 18, 2018.
