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Between last Christmas' Carry-On and current Netflix hit Black Rabbit, Jason Bateman's pivot from dependable Hollywood funnyman to serious actor-filmmaker — a long-brewing move seeded over the past decade by the likes of The Gift and, of course, Ozark — looks to be all but complete. And while yes, he does have Zootropolis 2 on his slate to remind us of his comedic credentials, Bateman's next project will add another meaty thriller to his resumé. Per Variety's reporting, Emmy winning New Yorker is set to direct Tom Holland in legal thriller The Partner, an adaptation of John Grisham's eponymous novel.
As some of you will recall, way back in January we first shared news of Tom Holland's The Partner casting and the Spider-Man: Brand New Day star's intention to produce the movie. And as you may also recall, once upon a time The Blind Side director John Lee Hancock had been set to direct an adaptation of Grisham's book — a low-key banger written at a time when the prolific author was knocking out big-screen bound hits like like A Time To Kill and The Pelican Brief. Now however, with Holland offering a star name to hang the project on, Bateman — having shown his directorial development to impressive effect on both Ozark and Black Rabbit — at the helm, and The Imitation Game scribe Graham Moore chipping in a script, the omens are promising for this latest attempt at adapting The Partner to hit the ground running.
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For Holland, The Partner is set to offer the Spidey actor a chance to head back into Cherry and The Devil All The Time territory, with the plot of Grisham's book revolving around a junior attorney (to be played by Holland) who fakes his own death to nick $90 million from a client and winds up in a whole world of trouble with his victim, his family, and the in-pursuit feds. Just how exactly this will all play out on screen very much remains to be seen, and it's worth noting that there's no shooting plans locked down for this one just yet. But in Bateman it looks like Holland has found the perfect partner for, well, The Partner. Watch this space!