It’s been awhile since Matthew McConaughey last appeared onscreen: four years, in fact. The last time? Guy Ritchie‘s London gangster caper-comedy “The Gentlemen.” Now Deadline reports McConaughey is ready for a live-action role again, and will star in “The Lost Bus.” Paul Greengrass will direct the film, with Jamie Lee Curtis co-starring.
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Curtis develops the project through her Comet Pictures banner with Jason Blum through Blumhouse. The actress has had her eyes on adapting Lizzie Johnson‘s book “Paradise: One Town’s Struggle To Survive An American Wildfire” since she first heard about the book on NPR. Brad Ingelsby adapts Johnson’s book for the big screen, and also share producing duties with Greg Goodman. Johnson serves as an executive producer on the film with Amy Lord.
So what’s “The Lost Bus” about? As the title of Johnson’s book suggests, the film will center on the heroics of a bus driver and local school teacher who saved a bus full of children during the deadly wildfire that destroyed most of Paradise, California in 2018. 85 people were killed in the blaze, but all of the children on the bus were saved. McConaughey plays bus driver Kevin McKay in the film, while Curtis plays teacher Mary Ludwig.
Curtis began developing “The Lost Bus” with Blum back in 2022, but the guild strikes halted everything last year. Now the film looks to close its deals for all involved, with Apple Original Films circling to distribute. If Greengrass directs, it’ll be his next feature, with another adaptation, “Drowning” for Warner Bros., still needing some script tinkering. If Apple grabs the film’s rights, it’ll mark a reunion of sorts with the studio and Ingelsby. Apple recently wrapped shooting on “Echo Valley” with Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney, another film scripted by Ingelsby. And “The Lost Bus” would extend Apple’s working relationship with McConaughey, too. He recently signed up for a comedy TV series for Apple TV+ with his good buddy Woody Harrelson.
If the deals for “The Lost Bus” are finalized soon, expect shooting to start by Q2 2024 with Apple eying a 2025 release.
