EXCLUSIVE: Following an extensive auditioning process, rising star Austin Abrams has landed the lead role in 20th Century’s adaptation of the Daniel Kraus novel Whalefall, with Brian Duffield directing. Duffield will co-write the script with Kraus.
The film is described as The Martian meets 127 Hours, centering on a scuba diver in search of his deceased father’s remains who gets swallowed by an 80-foot, 60-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out. After giving up on life, the young man is surprised to find a reason to live in the most dangerous and unlikely of places.
Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, Jeb Brody and Allan Mandelbaum are producing. Mandelbaum brought the book into Imagine and previously produced Duffield’s No One Will Save You (for 20th Century Studios). Duffield will also produce.
The project has been a major priority for the studio ever since it landed distribution rights in a competitive bid last year. Casting heated up in recent weeks with several young actors testing for the role. Duffield and execs tested the final group last week.
Richard Abate and Will Rowbotham of 3 Arts Entertainment will exec produce with J.R. Young overseeing for the studio.
Whalefall has generated immense buzz within the publishing world, receiving acclaim from readers and literary enthusiasts alike.
As for Abrams, last year he starred opposite George Clooney and Brad Pitt in Jon Watts’ Wolfs. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and received a limited theatrical release in the U.S. in September before its debut on Apple TV+. Abrams was also seen in Ethan Berger’s drama The Line alongside John Malkovich, Halle Bailey, Alex Wolff and Angus Cloud. That film premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival and was released in theaters in October 2024. In TV, Abrams appeared in Mark Duplass and Mel Eslyn’s series Penelope, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and debuted on Netflix in September 2024.
Upcoming, Abrams will be seen in Zach Cregger’s mystery thriller Weapons, which also stars Josh Brolin, Julia Garner and Alden Ehrenreich. The Warner Bros film is set to release on January 16, 2026.
Abrams won fans and critical acclaim for his role as the beloved Ethan on HBO’s Euphoria. He also starred in Jennifer Kaytin Robinson’s Do Revenge, which quickly became the most-watched program on Netflix when it debuted. He is repped by WME, Amplified and attorney Derek Kroeger.
Duffield’s critically acclaimed film No One Will Save You starring Kaitlyn Dever was released on Hulu in September 2023 and earned him a Critics Choice nomination for Best Movie Made for Television and a WGA Award nomination in the TV & New Media Motion Picture category.
Imagine Entertainment’s most recent production After the Hunt, directed by Luca Guadagnino, will open in theaters October 10.
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