Up until this year’s Academy Awards, a lot of general audiences weren’t even aware that The Father existed, and the moving story of a man’s struggles with dementia didn’t even release in many major territories until after the 93rd edition of the ceremony had taken place this past April.
Whether they’d seen it or not, viewers of the telecast were left equal parts shocked and furious when the entire gala was seemingly building towards a hugely emotional climax that would have seen Chadwick Boseman posthumously win Best Actor, only for Anthony Hopkins’ name to be read instead, sucking the air right out of the room.
Hopkins wasn’t even there in person, and the time difference to his Welsh home meant he was tucked up in bed when he landed his second Oscar, but the internet went into meltdown. That’s a shame, because Florian Zeller’s adaptation of his own play is moving devastating stuff, yet it found itself overshadowed by the backlash.
As per Deadline, Zeller is adapting another one of his stage dramas for the big screen, and The Son has even roped in Hopkins to continue the theme of spiritual succession. Hugh Jackman, Vanessa Kirby and Laura Dern are also on board, and it forms the middle chapter of a trilogy, so we can presumably expect The Mother to arrive in a couple of years.
