Move over Morgan Freeman: there’s a new God in Hollywood. And her name is Octavia Spencer. The Oscar-winning actress has secured the role in Stuart Hazeldine’s new drama, **The Shack.
The Exam filmmaker is headed for a welcome return behind the camera, working from John Fusco’s adaptation of the William Paul Young novel. The Shack will follow a character named Mackenzie Allen Phillips who, while trying to recover from a huge personal tragedy, receives a mysterious note that invites him to the titular structure.
The most intriguing part of the note is that it’s signed 'Papa', his wife’s nickname for God. Phillips decides to play along, and discovers that the shack has more of a biblical overtone than even the note suggested. With Spencer taking on the part of the deity, you’ve got to figure he’ll find something interesting. Hazeldine is set to kick off shooting this spring, according to Variety.
Spencer, who was last seen in James Brown biopic Get On Up, is part of the cast for The Divergent Series: Insurgent, which is out here on March 20. She’s also worked on Fathers And Daughters, Car Dogs and The Great Gilly Hopkins.