Irish actors Colm Meaney and Aidan Gillen have both been cast in Jim Sheridan's new crime drama "Re-Creation," which revisits the unsolved murder of French woman Sophie Toscan du Plantier in Co Cork in December 1996.
“I am delighted to have two icons of Irish cinema join the cast," Sheridan said of the castings, according to Variety.
“Colm and Aidan both have starred in some of my favorite films and shows," Co-writer and co-director David Merriman added.
"As artists, they both elevate any project, and we are so grateful to have them onboard."
A synopsis of the upcoming film from Latido says: "In a fictitious trial, twelve members of a jury must decide whether British journalist Ian Bailey is guilty of the murder of French filmmaker Sophie Toscan Du Plantier in 1996.
"Based on real events, the film reconstructs, through the discussions between these twelve people, a case that ultimately invites the viewer to draw their own conclusions."
Sheridan's Hell's Kitchens Productions notes: "In the film, using fiction to question reality, Jim becomes the protagonist in front of the camera and is accompanied by the character of Sophie."
In the new film, Meaney is reportedly set to play Ian Bailey, who died at the age of 66 in January this year.
No one has ever been charged in Ireland in connection with Toscan du Plantier's murder, although Bailey was convicted in absentia by a French court in 2020.
Bailey, who was twice arrested by gardaí in connection with the murder but never charged due to a lack of evidence, consistently denied any involvement in the death of the French woman but was unable to appeal the conviction as he was not present in French court.
Gillen's role, meanwhile, is still under wraps. The Dublin native actor has famously featured in "Love / Hate," "The Wire," "Game of Thrones," and "Kin."
Meaney and Gillen are joined in the cast by Vicky Krieps, who Variety previously reported will play jury member No. 8 “which is a kind of proxy for Sophie, a kind of a voice for her in the film,” Sheridan said.
Sheridan - who has six Oscar nominations for his films "My Left Foot," "In the Name of the Father," and "In America" - has previously explored the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier with the 2021 documentary "Murder at the Cottage: The Search for Justice for Sophie."
Toscan du Plantier's body was found by neighbors in a laneway near her holiday home on December 23, 1996. She had been badly beaten.
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