Cillian Murphy And Jay Lycurgo – Pictures: IMDb / Insight Management & Production
Cillian Murphy is at the top of his game, from starring in the widely acclaimed Peaky Blinders to being the leading man in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and receiving many awards and nominations. Murphy’s next gig will be one he will produce alongside starring in it. The movie is called Steve, and it’s about a headteacher in a home for a very disturbed young man who is also struggling with his mental health.
Director Tim Mielants will helm the movie. The Belgian director previously worked with Murphy on Peaky Blinders and Small Things Like These. Max Porter, the author of the novel Shy, on which this movie will be based, wrote the screenplay himself.
Cillian Murphy commented on the adaptation of this novel with Deadline saying:
“I just adore Max’s writing and the thing his writing does for me, which Claire Keegan’s writing does as well — and it’s something I’ve always chased down in writing — is something that has an actual visceral effect on you, an emotional effect. I remember reading Foster, Claire’s short story, I remember actually crying reading the book and having to put my hood up on the train to try to hide, I was so embarrassed.
And then Shy was also that book. Max gave me that book in a proof edition before he finished it, and again it just broke my heart. They’re the sorts of things I love as a reader and as a performer, so I really wanted to do something with him.”
Cillian Murphy and Alan Moloney produce via their newly formed Big Things Films production company.
What’s the plot of the Netflix movie Steve?
Netflix’s Steve is an adaptation of Max Porter’s 2023 novel Shy. Here’s the abbreviated book synopsis as seen in Goodreads:
This is the story of a few strange hours in the life of a troubled teenage boy. He is wandering into the night listening to the voices in his head: his teachers, his parents, the people he has hurt and the people who are trying to love him. He is escaping Last Chance, a home for “very disturbed young men,” and walking into the haunted space between his night terrors, his past, and the heavy question of his future.
That being said, Steve won’t be a direct adaptation of the book but rather a reimagining. The Netflix movie will be set from the headteacher’s perspective and will explore a pivotal 24 hours of his life, during which he is trying to keep the students in line while also struggling with his own spiraling mental health.
Murphy commented on why they chose to change the main character in the adaptation:
It was Max’s idea to change the perspective and flip it around to the headteacher who runs this institution. Myself and Alan and Max got on a call and we started to turn it around in our heads and it seemed like we could make a film out of it. The same events happen, we’re just looking at them through a different lens.
And I love films that happen in real time — this all happens in 24-hours so there’s immediately sort of an intense pressure on the characters.
Who is cast in Netflix’s Steve?
It has been announced that Cillian Murphy will star in Netflix’s Steve as the eponymous character, the headteacher mentioned in the plot section above. Murphy has had quite a year with the release of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and the countless awards and nominations for the movie. Murphy is also currently attached to star in another Netflix project in the form of the long-anticipated Peaky Blinders movie.
In July 2024, Netflix confirmed that Jay Lycurgo would be starring alongside Murphy. Lycurgo recently headlined Netflix’s one-and-done series The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself, in which he played Nathan. Other roles include Titans and The Batman.
What’s the production status of Netflix’s Steve?
Filming for Netflix’s Steve was initially reported to begin in Spring 2024.
Netflix provided an update via a Polaroid shortly before the movie was due to wrap, providing the complete production dates: May 24th, 2024, to July 5th, 2024.
Picture: Netflix
What’s the Netflix release date for Netflix’s Steve?
Netflix hasn’t set a premiere date for Steve yet, but considering its Spring 2024 filming start, a 2025 release would be the most reasonable assumption. On top of that, it is also confirmed that Steve will be distributed by Netflix globally.
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