A first look photo has been released for director Mary Harron’s upcoming film Charlie Says featuring The Crown‘s Matt Smith (Star Wars: Episode IX) portraying the role of the infamous cult leader Charles Manson. Variety has also reported that the U.S. rights for the Manson film has been successfully acquired by IFC Films which plans to release the film on 2019. Check out the full photo in the gallery below (via Bloody Disgusting)!
RELATED: Matt Smith Cast as Charles Manson in Mary Harron’s Charlie Says
The drama will focus on the three women (Murray, Young, and Rendon) who were sentenced to death in Manson’s (Smith) murder case. The death penalty was ultimately lifted, altering their sentence into life imprisonment. Wever plays Karlene Faith, a young graduate student who was sent to teach them. Through Faith, Charlie Says will follow the three women’s transformations as they face the reality of their horrific crimes.
The film stars Matt Smith, Suki Waterhouse (Detective Pikachu), Hannah Murray (Game of Thrones), Odessa Young (Assassination Nation), Marianne Rendon (Imposters), Carla Gugino (Sin City, Watchmen), Kaylie Carter (Godless), Chace Crawford, Sosie Bacon, Annabeth Gish and the Emmy Award-winning Merritt Wever (Nurse Jackie, The Walking Dead) have also been cast in the upcoming film.
RELATED: Matt Smith Cast in Key Role for Star Wars: Episode IX!
Guinevere Turner, who wrote American Psycho alongside Harron, penned the screenplay based on source material from Ed Sanders’ 1971 best-selling book, The Family, as well as Karlene Faith’s book, The Long Prison Journey of Leslie Van Houten. Harron remarked that Turner’s script “brings a fresh and unique perspective to the infamous story of the Manson murders and we have now found the perfect cast to bring it to life.”
Roxwell Films’ Jeremy M. Rosen (Dog Eat Dog) and Kevin Shulman (I Am Fear) are producing Charlie Says, with Dana Guerin, Michael Guerin, David Hillary, and Ed Sanders serving as executive producers. Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee, who also worked with Harron on American Psycho as well as films Se7en, Dallas Buyers Club, and Spotlight, are handling the casting for the film.
