Barry Jenkins alums Stephan James (If Beale Street Could Talk) and Ashton Sanders (Moonlight) have been tapped to be a part of a starry ensemble cast for the upcoming film, The Things They Carried. The package is up for grabs at the American Film Market.

The film, which is still casting, also includes Tye Sheridan, Tom Hardy, Bill Skarsgard, Pete Davidson, Martin Sensmeier, Moises Arias and Angus Cloud. Deadline first reported this news.

It is an adaptation Tim O’Brien’s “acclaimed collection of stories about a platoon of young soldiers and their experiences on the front lines during the Vietnam War.” Rupert Sanders is the director and Scott B. Smith is the adaptation’s writer.

The film will shoot in early 2021 in Thailand. As reported by Deadline, “The Things They Carried, which is often taught in middle schools and high schools across America, he tells the story of the young men of Alpha Company, a platoon of soldiers sent to fight on the ground during the War. Trekking from village to village amidst chaos and confusion, the young men struggle to navigate a growing labyrinth of physical, mental, and emotional terrains as they battle for the survival of their sanity, innocence, and each other.”

“Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is his seminal masterwork – a raw, unflinching, and emotionally truthful literary experience filtered through a kaleidoscope of memory that’s impossible not to be profoundly moved by,” Tom Hardy and Dean Baker, who are producing through their Hardy Son & Baker banner. “We are all deeply passionate about and honoured to have the good fortune of working alongside Tim in bringing his vital classic to screen – and together with our incredible cast, Rupert, Scott, and David – we look forward to creating what we feel will be an important film.”

“The Things They Carried is a beautifully crafted work and one of the most viscerally evocative books I have ever read,” said Rupert Sanders.“For me, it transcends its subject of young men at war and explores the landscape of deep human emotions that reside within all of us. We live in such turbulent times, and the themes of love, fear, and mortality that Tim explored thirty years ago still resonate today, maybe even more powerfully. I am so excited about the cast we have put together – we have not seen this many young stars from different backgrounds sharing the screen since the days of Platoon or The Outsiders.”

 

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