We’ve heard it before: an accomplished actor making the transition to directing his first movie — along with starring and producing in it. While it seems to work as much as it fails, hopefully, Michael Sheen falls into the former category, as he is set for his directorial debut with Green River Killer, a true story about Gary Ridgway, who, in 2003, pled guilty to the murder of 48 women between the ’80s and ’90s. Sheen will also star as Ridgway, in a script penned by Sheen himself. It will be an adaptation of the Eisner award-winning Dark Horse graphic novel, Green River Killer: A True Detective Story.
The story is dark, but one that, “ultimately finds hope and meaning in that darkness,” Sheen states to Variety. “The story of Tom and Gary, and how they are bound together in time, pulled me in from the beginning and wouldn’t let go. I hope that by now bringing it to life on screen, it can make audiences feel the same way.” Sheen has briefly dabbled in producing — all TV — but has no writing or other credits to his name. This doesn’t throw up the red tape, as an actor with as much experience as him has surely gleaned a lot being near the director’s chair, collaborating with Thomas Vinterberg, Woody Allen, Richard Donner, Stephen Frears, and more.
As of now, no shooting date has been announced. Until then, watch a documentary on the real-life Green River Killer below and pick up the graphic novel that will be adapted here.