Kenneth Branagh to direct 30s rowing tale The Boys in the Boat

By Matt Maytum
published

For The Weinstein Company

Having recently directed Thor for Marvel, Kenneth Branagh's next film will be 1930s rowing drama The Boys in the Boat .

The Weinstein Company have nabbed the rights to the non-fiction book proposal from Daniel James Brown, which focuses on Washington University's rowing team of the 30s.

Branagh described the film as "an epic", saying: "I was completely captivated by the characters, the era, and the dreams of a generation unfolding beautifully and dramatically."

'Sources' have loosely described the story as Seabiscuit meets Chariots of Fire .

To be honest, The Boys in the Boat sounds more up Branagh's street than Thor did, although judging by the trailers he seems to have handled the big-budget superhero action superbly.

This prestige pic will probably be the chance for Branagh to return to his comfort zone while Thor goes off to join The Avengers for a while, and it'll let him kill some time before the inevitable Thor 2 …

Matt Maytum
Matt Maytum
Editor, Total Film

I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.