Deadline reports that Nicholas Hoult has been cast as J.D. Salinger in the upcoming biopic, Rebel in the Rye. The first words of the synopsis could describe any biopic, claiming to explore Salinger’s “life and mind.” The film will depict the author’s life leading up to the birth of Catcher in the Rye, after which he stopped publishing his writing and chose to live in relative seclusion.
The movie is based on the biography by Kenneth Slawenski, JD Salinger: A Life, and is adapted, directed and produced by Empire creator/Hunger Games screenwriter Danny Strong. And, according to Variety, the film covers everything from his “rebellious youth,” to fighting in WWII, to being repeatedly rejected by the New Yorker to becoming deeply committed to Zen Buddhism.
Bloom is going to be aiming to sell the film to foreign buyers at the Toronto International Film Festival, and the company’s president, Alex Walton, said in a (not-so-informative) statement:
The world has long been fascinated with JD Salinger, who the talented Nicholas Hoult will bring to life, in this enigmatic role.