Paul Walter Hauser Set For Crime Drama ‘Garden City’ From John Curran, Magenta Light Studios

EXCLUSIVE: Fresh off Resident Evil, which is now Zach Cregger’s highest-grossing film at over $280M worldwide, Paul Walter Hauser has inked to star in Garden City, a new crime drama from Magenta Light Studios.

Based on a true story. the film is written and directed by Chappaquiddick‘s John Curran. Production kicks off in Atlanta in January.

Garden City follows Dan Day (Walter Hauser), a quiet resident of Garden City, Kansas, whose life becomes unexpectedly entangled in a plot targeting the city’s Somali Muslim community. As the threat unfolds, the lives of those at the center of the thwarted attack begin to intersect, revealing a community grappling with fear, prejudice, identity and belonging. What begins as an isolated act ultimately becomes a deeply human story about the people caught on opposite sides of a growing divide — and the choices they make when their community is put at risk.

Curran said, “I wrote the role of Dan with Paul in mind, and his commitment to the project and contributions to the script have been invaluable. I’m especially thrilled to be working with Bob Yari and his team again, who share our passion for this timely story.”

Magenta Light’s Yari and Amanda Harvey are producing alongside Walter Hauser, as well as Alex Gayner and Matt Cooper.

Yari commented, “GARDEN CITY is the kind of story that stays with you because it is rooted in real people and events, while also speaking to larger questions about community, human connection and the choices that shape our lives. I’ve had the opportunity to work with John before, and I’ve always admired his ability to approach layered stories. He has created a thoughtful and compelling screenplay, and Paul Walter Hauser has an extraordinary ability to bring depth, nuance and emotional complexity to his characters. We look forward to seeing John’s vision for the film brought to the screen.”

Walter Hauser plays Paul, an Umbrella Corporation scientist, in Cregger’s Resident Evil. Upcoming, the Emmy winner will be seen starring in Scooby-Doo: Origins for Netflix, as well as films including Deep Eddy, The Very Best People, Tommy Karate and Turpentine. He is repped by WME, Artists First and Schreck Rose.

Best known for directing the political drama Chappaquiddick, starring Jason Clarke as Ted Kennedy, Curran has more recently worked with Clarke on his Apple series The Last Frontier. Also behind films like Tracks, The Painted Veil and We Don’t Live Here Anymore, he is repped by CAA and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller.

Magenta Light Studios is behind titles like Strange Darling, the lauded cat-and-mouse thriller from JT Mollner, and Renny Harlin’s Deep Water. This Friday, they take to theaters with James McAvoy’s directorial debut, California Schemin’. Other upcoming titles include Bharat Nalluri’s Flavia de Luce: Girl Detective, in theaters December 4, and Francesca Gregorini’s Anna Nicole Smith flick Hurricanna, out January 8.