A litany of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Benedict Cumberbatch and James McAvoy, have officially been cast in the upcoming film The Book of Clarence. Following his highly successful feature film debut, The Book of Clarence hails from The Harder They Fall creator and director Jeymes Samuel. It was previously announced that LaKeith Stanfield (Atlanta) and Omar Sy (Lupin) were on board to lead the upcoming project, with no word on the future of the film until now.
It has now been revealed that Cumberbatch, McAvoy, and many more names have officially been added to the star-studded cast of the upcoming film The Book of Clarence, per THR. Besides Cumberbatch and McAvoy, The Book of Clarence will also see Caleb McLaughlin (Stranger Things), RJ Tyler (The Harder They Fall), Anna Diop (Nanny), Tom Glynn-Carney (House of the Dragon), Teyana Taylor (Coming 2 America), Babs Olusanmokun (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds), Chase Dillon (The Harder They Fall), Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Avengers:End Game) Nicholas Pinnock (Counterpart), Michael Ward (Empire of Light), David Oyelowo (Chaos Walking), Alfre Woodard (12 Years A Slave), Marianne Jean-Baptiste, and Eric Kofi Abrefa among its cast. The Book of Clarence officially kicked off production in Italy on Monday.
What To Expect From The Book of Clarence
Set during the biblical era, The Book of Clarence will see Stanfield as the film’s title character who is a down-on-his-luck Jerusalem native who attempts to fallaciously capitalize on opportunities in all the wrong places. The upcoming film will highlight Clarence’s journey that catapults him into exploring the idea of faith and ultimately leads to an unexpected path of his own. Samuel will be directing The Book of Clarence from an original screenplay that he created and will produce the upcoming project with Hames Lassiter (The Harder They Fall), along with former Netflix executive Tendo Nagenda, and Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter.
Samuel has noted that he found inspiration for The Book of Clarence in biblical epics such as Samson and Delilah, The Ten Commandments, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and Ben-Hur. Samuel will again be composing the score for the upcoming film that will see the director returning with The Harder They Fall cast members Stanfield, Tyler, and Dillon in a biblical-based epic that sounds more intriguing with each bit of news. In a move often seen in the world of Tarantino, Samuel’s decision to recycle actors from his previous film was a bold step by the young director, but one that implies that Samuel is just getting started in his big-screen storytelling.
Following the success of Samuel's feature film debut, it will be interesting to see if The Book of Clarence is able to match its successors’ reception, as a writer’s sophomore project can oftentimes be overshadowed following a successful debut. The perfect combination of Samuel’s beautiful eye and incredible writing skills paired impeccably with a star-studded cast led by Stanfield is already begging Samuel to be a permanent fixture in Hollywood’s list of gifted writers and directors following the release of his highly anticipated sophomore film. Although there is currently no known release date for the upcoming film, The Book of Clarence is expected to debut in theaters.
Source: THR