Deadline is reporting that Matt Damon is in early talks to star as fugitive billionaire trader Marc Rich in The King of Oil, a new project from John Krasinski’s Sunday Night Productions and Universal Pictures.
Based on Daniel Ammann’s biography The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich, the film will explore the story of Rich, who became the wealthiest oil trader of the 20th Century prior to his indictment on 65 criminal counts in 1983. Rich escaped justice, being in Switzerland when indicted, and received a controversial pardon from President Bill Clinton during his last day in office.
It is said that Krasinski – who has previously worked with Damon on Manchester By the Sea and Promised Land – may direct The King of Oil, but that is yet to be determined.
Krasinski directed and starred in this year’s acclaimed horror A Quiet Place, and will soon be seen as CIA analyst Jack Ryan in the Amazon series Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. Damon meanwhile is gearing up to star in James Mangold’s Ford vs. Ferrari alongside Christian Bale.
