While he waits for the Star Trek crew to get the next voyage of the Starship Enterprise flying and watches the slow development of Jack Ryan reboot Moscow, Chris Pine is looking to add some other possible work to his schedule, entering talks to star in coming-of-age tale Mud.
Jeff Nichols, who is in Cannes with his latest pic, Take Shelter (a drama featuring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain that won solid reviews at Sundance), is busy setting up the film. The plot finds two 14-year-old boys who stumble on a fugitive, known as Mud (Pine, if he signs) and have to help him escape from an island in the Mississippi. Along the way, everyone learns something about life.
It’s no surprise that the producers, including Memento’s Aaron Ryder, are talking it up as having a Stand by Me feel. Given the setting, it also seems to take some flavour from Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn stories, though it’s not a period piece.
There’s no word yet on when it might start, and right now, Pine’s only considering the role. But if he takes it, this pic, along with Welcome to People, would be a real change of pace given his more action-packed roles of late.