EXCLUSIVE: Protagonist Pictures is launching sales ahead of the Cannes market on Hera Pictures thriller The Return of Stanley Atwell, which is set to star Nicholas Galitzine (The Idea of You) and Marisa Abela (Industry).
Written and directed by Brian Welsh (Black Mirror), the film is based on a story by Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh, who also serves as executive producer.
The synopsis reads: “Stanley Atwell (Galitzine), the presumed dead son and heir to Lord Atwell’s title and fortune, unexpectedly returns to the family estate having escaped a decade of mysterious captivity. Atwell’s shocking reappearance causes chaos as he finds his sister Beatrice fighting to claim his inheritance, whilst close friend Pamela (Abela) manipulates his puzzling return, and a dark family secret, in a bid to seize control of the Atwell fortune. Sex, passion, backstabbing and betrayal wreak havoc across the estate as the lies and deception the Atwell name has been built upon start to unravel. How far is each family member willing to go to protect their own wealth and status… and what is really behind the return of Stanley Atwell?”
Pic is produced by Liza Marshall for Hera Pictures, which is currently in post-production with Amblin and Neal Street on Hamnet, directed by Chloé Zhao and starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley. John Gore will serve as producer for John Gore Studios, which is an equity investor in the project.
Cinematographer Benjamin Kracun (The Substance) is confirmed as DoP. Executive producers also include Protagonist’s Dave Bishop, George Hamilton and James Pugh alongside Hilary Strong for John Gore Studios.
This is Welsh and Soderbergh’s second collaboration as director and executive producer, having first teamed on crime-comedy Beats.
Soderbergh said: “I’ve wanted to be in the Brian Welsh business since I saw his episode from season one of Black Mirror. I soon discovered he’s as good a writer as he is a director, and the proof is how he expanded and improved the original idea for Stanley Atwell into something that has attracted top producers and a great cast. Now comes the fun part for me: watching him go do his thing!”
Writer-director Welsh added: “The Return Of Stanley Atwell is a mischievous and subversive mystery thriller – a punky and raunchy takedown of the British aristocracy that claws wildly at the unwritten rules that hold hierarchy in place. Marisa Abela as Pamela and Nick Galitzine as Stanley Atwell is dream casting, and the script is packed with delicious moments where these two phenomenal rising stars go toe-to-toe.”
Liza Marshall described the project as “something truly special — a seductive, entertaining thriller that feels fresh, provocative, and impossible to look away from.” Dave Bishop, Protagonist CEO said the film “dives into a world of privilege, secrets, and simmering tension”.
Brian Welsh is known for his BIFA-winning coming-of-age feature Beats, set against the backdrop of Scotland’s 1990s rave scene. His TV work includes notable episodes of Black Mirror and Glasgow Girls, and What It Feels Like For a Girl, produced by Hera Pictures for the BBC, which will headline this year’s SXSW London Festival.
Galitzine most recently starred opposite Anne Hathaway in Amazon’s hit The Idea of You, and in the streamer’s Red, White & Royal Blue alongside Taylor Zakhar Perez and Uma Thurman. His film credits include MGM’s Bottoms with Ayo Edebiri, Rachel Sennott and Netflix’s Purple Hearts opposite Sofia Carson and the upcoming Masters Of The Universe movie in the lead role. On the TV side, he recently appeared in Starz’s Mary & George opposite Julianne Moore.
Fellow Brit Abela was recently BAFTA-nominated for the third season of hit show Industry and also starred with Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett in the Steven Soderbergh-directed espionage thriller, Black Bag. She previously played Amy Winehouse in Back to Black, which helped her earn a nomination for a BAFTA EE Rising Star Award.
Galitzine is repped by Curtis Brown Group, WME Entertainment, Anonymous Content, Gang, Tyre, and Johnson Shapiro; Abela is repped by The Artists Partnership, WME Entertainment, and Sloane, Offer. Soderbergh is repped by Sugar23 and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols; Welsh is repped by Independent Talent Group.
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