Netflix ropes in Jonathan Bailey and Laura Dern for a John Lee Hancock movie
Jonathan Bailey is rinsing his period-drama aura for one of the most exciting Netflix projects yet from critically acclaimed filmmaker John Lee Hancock, opposite Laura Dern. So, if you’re a Bailey fan, you might want to keep an eye out for this.
The Little Things director is bringing the story behind the high-profile legal case involving the chemical company Monsanto, and the still-untitled project goes into production this week.
According to Netflix, also joining the Bridgerton and Marriage Story actors for the upcoming Hancock project is a star-studded cast, featuring LaKeith Stanfield, Julia McDermott, David Duchovny, Melonie Diaz, Bilal Hasna, and Greg Kinnear.
Inspired by a true story, the yet-untitled feature will follow rookie attorney Brent Wisner as he embarks on a seemingly impossible mission at the start of his career: taking on a bombshell case against the prestigious US chemical company Monsanto. Wisner defends and represents Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, a high-school groundskeeper, who used Monsanto’s most popular product, the weed and grass killer Roundup.
The case marked the first Roundup cancer lawsuit to go to trial, culminating in a landmark judgment ruling that Roundup causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Johnson was rewarded $289million by the jury over the failure to warn consumers that exposure to Roundup weed killer causes cancer.
The victory in Johnson vs Monsanto Co was a game-changer, which was followed by thousands of subsequent Roundup lawsuits and billions in dollars in jury verdicts against Monsanto’s parent company, Bayer. As of now, tens of thousands of claims are still pending.
The US Supreme Court recently gave ear to Monsanto’s arguments surrounding the need for the company to be protected from future failure-to-warn claims in April, citing the EPA’s stance that Roundup is safe and doesn’t require cancer warning labels on packaging. A verdict is expected to arrive in June.
Previously, Hancock also wrote and directed the Stephen King adaptation Mr Harrigan’s Phone for Netflix in 2022. While his credits go way back in time, having delivered hits such as The Blind Side and Saving Mr Banks, with the upcoming Netflix feature, he’s set to add another gem to his portfolio. Besides directing the untitled movie, the filmmaker also wrote it alongside Michael Wisner, Alexandra Duparc, and Ned Benson.
Mortiz Borman, Eric Kopeloff, Philip Schulz-Deyle, Adam McKay, Kevin Messick, and Jon Levin serve as producers. As for the rest of the details? Stay tuned for more updates!