Chris Evans plays pretty much the most morally upright superhero there is as Steve Rogers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the Captain America: Civil War star may very well be about to take a villainous turn. The actor looks set to take on the lead role of Tom Jackman in Jekyll, an upcoming movie from Lionsgate.
The writing team of Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry (who worked with Shane Black on The Nice Guys and his upcoming Doc Savage adaptation) penned the screenplay, and Jekyll is actually based on the 2007 BBC One series which was the creation of Steven Moffat (Doctor Who).
Set in the present day, it revolved around Jackman – played on TV by The Hobbit star James Nesbitt – a descendant of Jekyll who begins to exhibit signs of a split personality. He then abandons his family, creates a new home in a fortified basement and finds an ally in a psychiatric nurse.
Soon, he undergoes transformations which see him gain enhanced speed, strength, and a very different sort of personality. The two attempt to co-exist by leaving micro-cassette messages for each other, but the family Tom left to protect soon begins to come between them.
Honestly, that sounds like a pretty awesome premise for a movie, and Evans being attached to star definitely helps to make Jekyll even more exciting. Russell Crowe also recently signed up to play a version of the character in The Mummy reboot, but that will no doubt be a very different take to this one.
There’s no director attached to the film as of now, but stay tuned for updates…