Austin Butler to Star in Darren Aronofsky Crime Thriller
Elvis actor Austin Butler is to star in the next film from renowned American filmmaker Darren Aronofsky.
Austin Butler’s star shows no sign of slowing down as the actor is now attached to lead Darren Aronofksy’s next feature for Sony Pictures, per Deadline.
The film, titled Caught Stealing, is a crime thriller that follows Hank Thompson (Butler), a jaded former baseball player who works as a bartender and struggles with alcoholism, as he is mistakenly wrapped up in a wild fight for survival in a bloody treasure hunt taking place in the downtown criminal underworld of 1990s New York City. Originally a 2004 book by Charlie Huston, the author is returning to pen the script. Huston is known in visual media for his work on comic books, as well as for penning scripts to three episodes of popular television show ‘Gotham’ and creating the 20 episode television series ‘Powers’ (2015-16), starring Sharlto Copley.
“I am excited to be teaming up with my old friends at Sony Pictures to bring Charlie’s adrenaline-soaked roller coaster ride to life. I can’t wait to start working with Austin and my family of NYC filmmakers,” said Aronofsky, whose other directorial works include The Wrestler and Mother!.
A filmmaker known for dark and often disturbing insights into the human psyche, Darren Aronofsky is a former Best Director Oscar nominee for his work on Black Swan, while he earned rave reviews for his breakout hit Requiem for a Dream (2000).
Austin Butler most recently appeared opposite Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya in Dune: Part Two, as the psychotic rival to Chalamet’s Paul Atreides, Feyd Rautha. His performance has been praised by critics and the film is proving to be a box office success, currently being by far the highest-grossing movie of the year.
Prior to his role in the Dune universe, Butler had a star-making turn as the king of rock and roll in Baz Luhrmann‘s dazzling Oscar-nominated biopic Elvis, for which he received a Best Actor Academy Award nomination. Fans can expect to next see Butler this summer (2024) in Jeff Nichols’ (Mud) next picture The Bikeriders, alongside Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy.
Caught Stealing will follow Aronofky’s acclaimed 2022 drama The Whale, which centred around a performance by Brendan Fraser that earned the actor his first Oscar win. Could this success be repeated with Austin Butler in this upcoming film? We may be waiting a while to find out as the film currently has no release date.
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