Julia Roberts is set to star in and produce the film adaptation of Peter Swanson’s upcoming novel Kill Your Darlings, in collaboration with director James Gray. The project, based on the New York Times bestselling author’s murder mystery, was quickly picked up by Scott Stuber’s newly revitalized United Artists label, alongside Amazon MGM Studios.
Roberts will produce through her Red Om Films banner, alongside partners Lisa Gillan and Marisa Yeres Gill, and will be joined by Tribeca Studios’ Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh as producers. Stuber and his partner Nick Nesbitt are also credited as producers. Though the novel from HarperCollins is not set to be released until June, Amazon and Stuber acted swiftly to secure the rights to the book before it hit Hollywood.
The novel, described as a murder mystery told in reverse, follows Tom and Wendy Graves, a married couple of over 25 years, who seem to have the perfect life, but secretly harbor a dark, hidden truth. The plot unfolds backward through time, revealing key moments of their relationship, including their fiftieth birthday, the birth of their child, the purchase of their home, and the mysterious death of a colleague. These moments together construct a portrait of a marriage shaped by a long-buried, terrible secret—one they have kept from each other for decades.
As the story unravels, the truth about their shared past in their early twenties is revealed—an event that has kept them bound together through the years. But as time passes, their once unbreakable bond begins to fray, leaving each to question whether the weight of their shared secret is too much to bear, and if their marriage would be better off with the past remaining buried.
Joel Gotler, representing the book and author, will also executive produce alongside Swanson.
This project marks another collaboration between Roberts and Stuber, who previously worked together on the Netflix thriller Leave the World Behind, one of the streaming giant’s most popular films. The two are also currently working on Panic Carefully, a thriller directed by Sam Esmail, with Roberts starring and producing. Red Om Films is also producing this project, which is currently filming in London.
Stuber is developing several other films with United Artists, including the adult mystery thriller The Girl in the Lake, based on Lauren Oliver’s novel, with Scarlett Johansson attached to star. He is also producing Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein for Netflix, as well as the Scott Cooper-directed Bruce Springsteen drama Deliver Me From Nowhere, which stars Jeremy Allen White of The Bear.
Welsh and Rosenthal, meanwhile, are producing Oh. What. Fun., an upcoming holiday film for Amazon MGM Studios, directed by Michael Showalter and starring Michelle Pfeiffer.
Gray, best known for directing critically acclaimed dramas such as Armageddon Time, Ad Astra, and The Lost City of Z, is currently in pre-production on his next crime thriller, Paper Tiger, starring Adam Driver, Anne Hathaway, and Jeremy Strong. Gray is represented by CAA and Jackoway Austen.
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