Per Variety, Ann Dowd has signed on to star in an upcoming thriller titled The Undertaker’s Children.
Despite the title, it’s not about the offspring of the legendary wrestling character. Instead, the film will see Dowd star as a secretive undertaker who’s forced to take in two orphans. When her sinister plan for getting rid of the kids is revealed, the children plan a daring escape and find themselves facing evil forces.
Alex Gayner will be making his directorial debut on the film. He’s previously worked as a second unit director on movies such as Hotel Artemis and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows, as well as Nicolas Winding Refn‘s recent series Too Old To Die Young. Natasha LePetit has written the screenplay.
Dowd is no stranger to dark roles like this, having appeared in projects with tough subjects such as Mass, Hereditary, The Leftovers, Compliance, and The Handmaid’s Tale, with her performance in the latter winning her a 2017 Emmy for Supporting Actress.
The Exchange will introduce the title to buyers at the upcoming 2022 Cannes Film Market. Nat McCormick, The Exchange’s EVP of sales and distribution, said in a statement:
“The Undertaker’s Children is a commercial high concept thriller with incredible twists and turns. And who better to play this mysterious, complex lead than Ann Dowd, who has proven her incredible talent portraying characters ranging from the dark psyche of Handmaid‘s Aunt Lydia to the grief-stricken mother in Mass. Audiences are going to love this on many levels!”
The Exchange’s Cannes Film Market lineup also includes the Pete Davidson and Kaley Cuoco romantic comedy Meet Cute and an adaptation of Ernest Hemingway‘s Across The River and into The Trees, which will star Liev Schreiber.
Dowd recently wrapped filming on another Exchange project, The Independent, which also stars Brian Cox and Jodie Turner-Smith.
#Peace.Love.TheUndertakersChildren
