In 2017, Yoko Ono began working with producer Michael De Luca and Bohemian Rhapsody co-writer Anthony McCarten to develop a film about her relationship with John Lennon, a story that we noted at the time would have to at least partially involve Lennon being a dick to his first wife. Rather than detailing some of Lennons less-saintly qualities, though, Ono’s film would instead focus on “relevant themes of love, courage, and activism,” which makes it sound like more of a crowd-pleasing ode to the stuff that made Lennon popular than a deconstruction of who he really was.
Now, according to Deadline, that project is moving forward with Dallas Buyers Club and Sharp Objects director Jean-Marc Vallée attached to direct the still-untitled film. He was supposedly on the list for potential Bond 25 directors after Danny Boyle dropped out, but Deadline notes that this story seemed more appealing to him. Vallée will also be co-writing a new draft of the script alongside McCarten, and while we don’t know anything else about what he’s planning, his filmography does hint toward something darker than what Ono initially seemed to be planning.