Denis Villeneuve Is No Longer Directing Jake Gyllenhaal’s HBO Miniseries ‘The Son’

February 16, 2024 @ 7:46 PM

In a recent interview, Denis Villeneuve revealed he’s no longer involved with “The Son,” the in-development HBO miniseries based on the novel of the same name by the Norwegian author Jo Nesbo, which will star Jake Gyllenhaal.

Villeneuve was set to direct the series, with Lenore Zion serving as showrunner. Villeneuve revealed his departure while speaking to the Norwegian outlet Verdens Gang (“News of the World”) during a junket for “Dune Part 2.”

Asked about the project, Villeneuve said, “No, it’s, it’s a project that I absolutely love. And I love the book. I love that writer, very strong writer. And the thing is that, I brought this project to do a miniseries, because I thought that to bring it, to try to protect all the elements of the book, it was too much for a feature film. But I did feel that the adaptation we’ve made, which I think the screenplays were excellent, but far away from my sensibility.”

There hasn’t been much news about the project since it was first announced, and like Villeneuve, Gyllenhaal has also kept a very busy schedule since then. Of course since 2020, HBO’s parent company Warner Bros. has gone through a series of major changes, most notably the 2022 merger that created Warner Bros. Discovery, and the tenure of WBD CEO David Zaslav, under whom a large number of in-development and completed projects have been abruptly canceled.

Representatives for HBO didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap. Villeneuve for his part told Verdens Gang, “I hope this will find the light of the day. I think, I hope it will happen, but directed by someone else.”

Described as an Oslo-set revenge story amid rampant and brutal corruption, the series is being executive produced by Riva Marker of Gyllenhaal’s Nine Stories and  Kilter Films’ Athena Wickham. Bold Films’ David Litvak, Gary Michael Walters, Michel Litvak and Svetlana Metkina also serve as executive producers with Jo Nesbø and Niclas Salomonsson. Nine Stories Productions, Kilter Films and Bold Films will produce in association with Warner Bros. Television.