EXCLUSIVE: The Dallas Buyers Club Oscar winner is close to boarding Barry Levinson‘s booming ensemble in the David Mamet co-scripted Assassination. Jared Leto‘s deal isn’t closed yet, but is nearing, we understand. He’ll join the JFK conspiracy movie which already counts his fellow House of Gucci star Al Pacino, Jessica Chastain, Brendan Fraser and Bryan Cranston.
The murder mystery noir pic centers around ground-breaking female crime reporter Dorothy Kilgallen played by Chastain. When she suspects that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone, she uses her fame and influence to find President John F. Kennedy’s real killer. Kilgallen’s journey will put her up against the CIA, mafia bosses and the FBI, all who would love nothing more than to make her and this story disappear. Levinson and Sam Bromell co-wrote the screenplay with Mamet.
Assassination is produced by Corey Large and Jason Sosnoff. Large is also financing Assassination. John Burnham, Bernie Gewissler, Pia Patatian and Jordan Nott are EPs. Cameras roll in Boston in early next year.
Patatian, formerly of Arclight, is handling global rights through her new company Cloud 9. Patatian launched the project at AFM last month. Nicholas Celozzi is also producing.
Louisiana-born Leto, in addition to being the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and main songwriter for the pop rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, is the star of such big films as Panic Room, Suicide Squad, Blade Runner 2049, House of Gucci, and he can be seen in the upcoming Disney reboot Tron: Ares on Oct. 10, 2025. He starred opposite Anne Hathway in the AppleTV+ series WeCrashed, about the rise and fall of WeWork communal office space. Leto won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, Golden Globe, a Film Independent Spirit Award, and a SAG award for his turn in Dallas Buyers Club. Leto is repped by WME.