Jennifer Kent to Write and Direct 'The Nightingale'

Jennifer Kent reached critical acclaim with her directorial debut The Babadook in 2014. Since then she's had multiple projects in various stages of development and was even in the running to direct Wonder Woman, a job that would eventually land with Patty Jenkins. One of those projects is The Nightingale, which will offiically go into production in March in Tasmania, Australia under Causeway Films and Made Up Stories.

The Nightingale is a period thriller set in Tasmania in 1825 that is being written and directed by Kent. It will star Aisling Franciosi as a "beautiful 21-year-old Irish female convict who witnesses the brutal murder of her husband and baby by her soldier master and his cronies. Unable to find justice, she takes an Aboriginal male tracker with her through the hellish wilderness to seek revenge on the men, and gets much more than she bargained for."

The film also stars Sam Claflin, Damon Herriman, Ewen Leslie, Harry Greenwood, Aboriginal Djuki Mala dancer Baykali Ganambarr, and East Arnhem Land indigenous model Magnolia Maymuru.

The producers are Kristina Ceyton (The Babadook, Cargo) and Bruna Papandrea (Wild, “Big Little Lies,” Warm Bodies, Gone Girl). Aaron L. Gilbert, Andy Pollack, Jason Cloth (Fences, The Birth of a Nation, Tully) and Brenda Gilbert (Beatriz at Dinner, The Birth of a Nation, I Saw the Light) are executive producers for Bron; Ben Browning and Alison Cohen are executive producers for FilmNation; and Steve Hutensky (2:22) is exec producer for Made Up Stories. Jeanne Snow will oversee for Made Up Stories.