It’s been a busy twenty-four hours in the Collateral Beauty camp. Earlier today, we brought you the news that Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema had finally settled on a release date for David Frankel’s character drama – opposite Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, no less – and now Keira Knightley is the latest in line to join the film’s starry ensemble.
Will Smith is front and center for this one, headlining Collateral Beauty as a New York marketing executive who finds himself down in the dumps after a personal tragedy strikes. Flanking him for Frankel’s unconventional drama are Helen Mirren, Edward Norton and Naomie Harris, along with End of Watch and Ant-Man star Michael Peña. And though casting specifics have remained under lock and key for now, Knightley is reportedly circling the role of Love.
You see, for Collateral Beauty, the script – one penned by Allan Loeb – has Will Smith’s successful business executive cross paths with the personifications of Love, Time and Death during his bout of depression. It’s a meaty role for Smith to take on, returning to more dramatic affair in the vein of The Pursuit of Happyness and, more recently Concession after a brief spell operating under Task Force X in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. Couple this with the opportune December release window and it’s clear Warner and New Line are aligning the picture as an early awards contender.
Village Roadshow Pictures is co-financing the project and will assist in producing. Now that Collateral Beauty has set sights on a December 16 release, it’s understood production will get underway next month in the Big Apple.
