Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal to star in Hamnet adaptation?

Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal are in talks to team up for an upcoming adaptation of the best-selling novel Hamnet penned by the Maggie O'Farrell. The film will be directed by Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao. The author, along with Zhao, will be writing the script of the film. 

The book imagines the story of William Shakespeare's wife, Agnes and how she struggles with the loss of her son Hamnet's demise. The book explores personal tragedy while providing a captivating story that leads up to the creation of Shakespeare's Hamlet. The book has won many accolades, including the 2020 Women's Prize for Fiction and the Fiction Prize at the 2020 National Book Critics Circle Awards (US). 

The film is backed by a few banners, including  Amblin Partners, Hera Pictures, Neal Street Productions and Book of Shadows. 

Meanwhile, Jessie Buckley was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actor category for her role in Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Lost Daughter. Her other feature credits include Women Talking, Fargo, Chornobyl, and I'm Thinking of Ending Things, among others. 

Paul Mescal has also secured an Oscar nomination for his performance in the film Aftersun. The actor was also roped in to play the lead in the sequel to the 2000 film Gladiator.