Now this is easily the best project package at the Cannes market. Deadline reports that a reimagining of the subversive 1963 thriller “The Servant,” directed by Joseph Losey, is making the rounds on the Croisette. And what a cast attached, too: Colman Domingo, Nicholas Hoult, Noah Jupe, and Emma Corrin are set to star in the project, with “God’s Own Country” director Francis Lee behind the camera.
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NYC-Brooklyn residents will recognize Losey’s original as part of Steven Soderbergh‘s recent film series at both Nitehawk Cinema locations. The 1963 film, with Harold Pinter adapting Robin Maugham‘s 1948 novella, stars James Fox as a British gentleman returning to London from abroad whose life in a new flat goes sideways after he hires Dirk Bogarde as a manservant. The cat-and-mouse game that unfolds between the two has plenty of class, political, and sexual undertones. That’s no doubt what Lee will want to tap into with his remake.
But Lee also updates several aspects of the original story. His version of “The Servant” will be set in 1950s New York, with Hoult’s British gentleman moving into an apartment adjacent to Central Park. And Colman’s casting complicates the original Bogarde role, adding a race element to the story’s homoerotic undertones. No word on who Jupe and Corrin will play in Lee’s film, but expect news on that front soon.
What else do we know about “The Servant” right now? Graham Broadbent and Pete Czernin produce the film via Blueprint Pictures, with Ben Knight and Diarmuid McKeown executive producing through the same banner; Farhana Bhula also serves as executive producer via Film4. Mk2 handles the project’s international sales at Cannes. Also of note: Lee plans to shoot the film starting next January, so don’t expect “The Servant” in theaters until 2028. Maybe it gets a Sundance premiere, like Lee’s previous two films?
Here’s a press statement from Francis Lee about “The Servant”: “I am delighted to be working with my incredible cast on “The Servant,” an exciting, dangerous, and fun retelling with a contemporary viewpoint of the classic film. Although this thrilling story is set in 1950’s New York, its themes feel more timely than ever, and I can’t wait for audiences to discover this film through fresh eyes.”
Domingo adds “The Servant” a list of upcoming projects that includes his Nat King Cole biopic and Marielle Heller‘s “The Comebacker.” Hoult has several irons in the fire too, including David Leitch‘s “How To Rob A Bank“ and James Gunn‘s “Man of Tomorrow.” Jupe stars in “The Death Of Robin Hood“ later this year, and is currently filming “A Quiet Place Part 3.” Meanwhile, Corrin stars in Netflix‘s upcoming “Pride & Prejudice“ limited series, set to premiere later this year.
