Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany may be joining Jake Gyllenhaal in a movie about the Boston Marathon bombing.
The Canadian actress is in early negotiations to star in Lionsgate’s Stronger, according to a knowledgeable source. The film, helmed by director David Gordon Green (Our Brand is Crisis, Pineapple Express), is based on bombing survivor Jeff Bauman’s memoir of the same name, co-written by Bret Witter.
Bauman, who lost both his legs in the 2013 attack, was waiting for his girlfriend Erin Hurley at the marathon finish line and saw one of suspects before the bombs detonated. The attack killed three people and injured more than 260 others. Bauman was able to help identify the suspect to authorities when he regained consciousness.
Gyllenhaal is set to play Bauman, and Maslany is in talks to portray Hurley, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which first reported the news.
Maslany, whose portrayal of no fewer than 10 characters in BBC’s hit sci-fi series Orphan Black garnered her an Emmy nomination earlier this year, has been circling Rian Johnson’s Star Wars film Episode VIII.
At least two more Boston Marathon bombing films are in the works: Mark Wahlberg is attached to produce and star in Patriot’s Day, about the manhunt for one of the bombers; and Fox has acquired the rights to Boston Strong, based on the book by Casey Sherman and former Boston Herald reporter Dave Wedge.
