It was just announced that Aaron Sorkin would be helming “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” his follow-up film to “Molly’s Game,” and we are starting to see the all-star ensemble of actors beginning to take shape.
Following in the steps of Sacha Baron Cohen, Academy Award-winning actor Eddie Redmayne is the latest actor to be in talks to join the upcoming Sorkin film, according to Variety. “The Trial of the Chicago 7” is a film that has been long-in-development and originally was to have Steven Spielberg directing. The story follows the 1969 trial of seven people charged by the federal government with conspiracy stemming from the counterculture protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
Redmayne would play Tom Hayden, the co-founder of Students for a Democratic Society. He played a significant role in the anti-war and civil rights protests of that era and eventually was one of the seven titular people in the 1969 trial.
As mentioned, the actor won an Oscar for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in the film “The Theory of Everything.” Recently, however, he’s been dabbling in a bit of wizarding as the lead in the J.K. Rowling-penned ‘Harry Potter’ spin-off franchise, ‘Fantastic Beasts.’ He also has a new Amazon film “The Aeronauts,” which is set to come out sometime in 2019.
It appears that Sorkin is seeking real A-list talent to star in his film. Initially, when Spielberg was attached, Will Smith was looked at as a possible lead in the movie. Now, it appears that Sorkin is looking for the same level of talent for his film, which right now includes Redmayne and Baron Cohen.
And as we get closer to production, it’ll be interesting to see which other big names join “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”