Casting news continues to seep out from the ongoing Berlin Film Festival, and the latest nugget has revealed that Victor Frankenstein star Daniel Radcliffe will make tracks to the Amazon for Greg McLean’s new thriller, Jungle.
Lifting inspiration from Yossi Ghinsberg’s memoir about his own trek in the South American forest, McLean’s feature film will chronicle his gruelling journey through the lush wilderness in what is being pitched as a psychological thriller.
Ghinsberg’s troubled expedition has been brought to the screen before, when his adventure was the subject for Discovery Channel’s hour-long docudrama series, I Shouldn’t Be Alive. The title alone ought to give you an indication of the trials and tribulations that the explorer faced when cast astray in the Amazonian jungle. By the same token, it’s shaping up to be a meaty role for Radcliffe to take on, and will hopefully help cushion the one-two punch of Victor Frankenstein and the BBC’s middling Grand Theft Auto documentary, The Gamechangers.
Setting up camp at Arclight Films, Greg McLean will adapt Ghinsberg’s memoir with the help of fellow Aussie Justin Monjo, with producing support from Dana Lustig, Gary Hamilton and Mike Gabrawy. Todd Fellman is attached to executive produce.
“We’re extremely excited about Daniel Radcliffe joining the cast of Jungle,” says Gary Hamilton, managing director of Arclight Films. “He has an enthusiastic global fan base, a wide range as an actor as evident by his diversity of roles and is known for picking out unique and interesting projects.”
Before plotting course for Jungle, Daniel Radcliffe can next be seen in crime caper sequel Now You See Me 2 when it lands in June.