Nomadland' director Chloe Zhao set to direct 'Hamnet'

Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao is set to direct a feature based on Maggie O'Farrell's historical novel 'Hamnet'. It centres on Agnes, the wife of William Shakespeare who is mourning the loss of her son, Hamnet. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Zhao will pen the script for Hamnet with O'Farrell.

Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris and Sam Mendes are producing, with Nic Gonda executive producing for Book of Shadows. Jeb Brody, Amblin's president of production, and Mia Maniscalco, senior vp creative affairs, will oversee for the studio.

In addition to Hamnet, O'Farrell is the author of nine novels and the memoir I Am, I Am, I Am. Hamnet won the 2020 Women's Prize for Fiction in the United Kingdom. It also took the Fiction Prize at the 2020 National Book Critics Circle Award. Hamnet is one of several films Zhao is supposed to direct. She recently told The Hollywood Reporter she is currently writing a script for a sci-fi western Dracula movie that has been in the works since early 2021. It is unclear if Eternals 2 is still a possibility as well for her.