Variety is reporting that noted ferret fan Jake Gyllenhaal will be producing an adaptation of the crime novel The Son by Jo Nesbo, with Denis Villeneuve set to direct. Of course, Gyllenhaal and Villeneuve are not only both members of the “Hard To Spell Last Name” club, they’ve also previously worked together on movies like Enemy and Prisoners. It’s unclear if Gyllenhaal will be starring in The Son, like he did in his previous collaborations with Villeneuve, but he is expected to play some role in the film.
The book version of The Son tells the story of a former teenage wrestling star whose life falls apart when his dad kills himself. He somehow ends up in prison, “nurtured by an uninterrupted supply of heroin from a seedy chaplain,” but he decides to escape once he uncovers “long-hidden truths about his father’s unexpected death.” From there, it sounds like the story turns into your classic vengeance-fueled rampage. Again, we don’t know if Gyllenhaal will star in The Son, but an escaped prisoner/heroin user who goes on a murder spree is exactly the sort of terrifyingly unhinged protagonist that Gyllenhaal plays so well these days.