Jenna Ortega is currently in negotiations to star in Taika Waititi’s next film, an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 bestselling novel, Klara and the Sun, as first reported by TheInSneider.com.
The project went into development in early 2023, with Waititi attached to direct and Mrs. America‘s Dahvi Waller penning the script. It’s unknown if Waititi will receive any writing credit as well, given how much creative input he likes to have in his films. Sony’s 3000 Pictures is backing the project, with Elizabeth Gabler overseeing it for them. David Heyman via Heyday Films, Garrett Basch and Waititi himself are producers, while Ishiguro executive produces, along with Heyday’s Jeffrey Clifford and Rosie Alison.
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The story follows Klara, a solar-powered robot (or Artificial Friend) who, after finally being picked up by Josie, a sickly teenage girl looking for a companion, finds a new definition of what it means to love someone. As mentioned by Deadline in their report from last May, this was set up to be a hot role for soon-to-be stars in their 20s. Jenna Ortega seems like an obvious choice on paper, but this is also a role she can really sink her teeth into.
Jenna Ortega’s Big 2024
2024 is going to be huge for Ortega, with multiple projects she filmed last year now in post-production. Out on January 26 is Miller’s Girl, with Martin Freeman, and on September 5, Beetlejuice 2 is out, with Tim Burton directing and Michael Keaton returning.
But also in post, she has Tiffany Paulsen’s feature directorial debut Winter Spring Summer Fall, a teenage love story, a secret film co-starring The Weeknd (from an original idea of his) and Barry Keoghan, from director Trey Edward Shults (Waves), and the feature directorial debut of Alex Scharfman, Death of a Unicorn, in which she plays Paul Rudd’s on-screen daughter.
In addition, she’s supposed to start filming the second season of Netflix’s Wednesday. The first was Netflix’s biggest English-language original series ever, which means the platform will be eager to get it back in front of the cameras as soon as possible. According to IMDb, the new season will shoot from April 13 to August 9, 2024. But how accurate is that? That’s four months of principal photography, a far cry from the seven months season 1 took.
Reports suggest a spring shoot in Ireland, but could that be pushed back a couple of months so that Ortega can squeeze in Klara and the Sun before that? After all, if Netflix wants season 2 out by Halloween 2025, they have plenty of time to finish post-production. Think that season 1 wrapped in March 2022 and the show came out in November. Or will Taika Waititi have to wait until the end of the year to shoot?
Taika Waititi’s New Projects
We know from an interview with Business Insider that Klara and the Sun will be his next project. He’s also writing an adaptation of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s The Incal, which he’s also supposed to direct, and has been attached for a long time to a live-action version of Akira for Warner Bros. That seems unlikely to happen any time soon. And of course, he’s developing a new Star Wars movie.
What do you think of Ortega’s casting as the lead in Klara and the Sun? Are you excited for a new Taika Waititi movie? Have you read Ishiguro’s novel? What’s your favorite Jenna Ortega movie/show? Let us know your thoughts on our social media, and stay tuned for more!
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SOURCE: TheInSneider.com
