“Where the Crawdads Sing” and “Normal People” star Daisy Edgar-Jones will play Carole King in a film adaptation of Broadway’s “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.”
“The Kids Are Alright” filmmaker Lisa Cholodenko will direct, with Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman producing. They will be joined by Paul Blake, who also produced the Tony-winning stage show. Executive producers are Sherry Kondor, Christine Russell, Steven Shareshian and Mike Bosner.
Cholodenko and her “Kids Are Alright” co-writer Stuart Blumberg are working on the latest draft of the script, which is still in development. Based on Douglas McGrath’s book of the musical, “Beautiful” will trace the legendary singer-songwriter’s path to fame, as well as her tragedies and triumphs in her personal life.
King has already given Edgar-Jones her seal of approval. “Daisy has a spirit and energy that I recognized as myself when I was younger,” she said in a statement. “She’s a tremendous talent and I know she’s going to give a great performance.”
“Beautiful” ran on Broadway from 2014 to 2019. It is the recipient of two Tony Awards, including best actress, and was nominated for a total of seven.
Earlier this year, Edgar-Jones starred in Sony’s “Where the Crawdads Sing.” The drama-mystery film swept the box office with $90.2 million in the U.S. and $140 million worldwide. The “Normal People” breakout also recently appeared in Hulu’s “Under the Banner of Heaven,” Epix’s “War of the Worlds” series, and the film “Fresh” opposite Sebastian Stan.
She is repped by UTA, Hamilton Hodell, Public Eye Communications and Sloane, Offer, Weber, Dern.
