Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Brendan Fraser and Al Pacino to headline Barry Levinson’s JFK drama Assassination

Rain Man and Good Morning Vietnam director Barry Levinson has assembled a stellar cast for his forthcoming JFK drama Assassination, enlisting Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Brendan Fraser, and Al Pacino to star in the political-thriller.  

Levinson, whose previous film was 2021’s little-seen boxing drama The Survivor, will direct from a script by legendary playwright David Mamet, who was previously set to make the film, and Sam Bromell (Elvis). 

Per Deadline’s report Assassination will examine a new take on the JFK conspiracy, focusing on Dorothy Kilgallen (played by Chastain), who was known as the first female crime reporter in America. When she suspects that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone, Dorothy uses her fame and influence in an attempt to find the real killer of JFK. Described as part murder mystery, part film noir, Kilgallen’s journey pits her against the CIA, Mafia bosses and the FBI, all who would love nothing more than to make her and this story disappear.

While there are no details on what roles Cranston and Fraser will be be playing, it had been previously reported that Al Pacino would be depicting senior Mob Boss Tony Accardo.

Assassination would mark the third time that Barry Levinson and David Mamet have worked together following 1997’s political comedy Wag the Dog, and 2013’s HBO movie Phil Spector, which also happened to star Al Pacino as the disgraced record producer. 

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