Chris Pine is to star as CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite in upcoming drama ‘Newsflash’.
The 38-year-old actor is to take on the role of the journalist in the movie which will take place on November 22, 1963, the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Texas and the impact that global news event had on Cronkite’s career, making him the most trusted TV news anchor in America.
The script from Ben Jacoby will focus on Cronkite’s calm, yet emotional reporting of the tragedy meaning that although he wasn’t the first to report the news, his reporting helped best inform the nation of the incident.
Seth Rogen was originally being lined up for the role with David Gordon Green directing, however, the filmmaker has since walked away from the project to helm the ‘Halloween’ sequels and his untitled drama about the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Mark Ruffalo is attached to play Cronkite’s producer Don Hewitt, and the film will also detail the pressure Cronkite was under from his bosses William Paley and Jim Aubrey who felt CBS Evening News wasn’t sensational enough in its presentation of current affairs and their intentions to scrap the evening broadcast.
Next year, Pine will be seen on screen reprising his role as American fighter pilot Steve Trevor in ‘Wonder Woman 1984’, even though he seemingly gave his life by flying a bomb away from its intended target in the original movie.
According to the film’s director Patty Jenkins, she knew Steve would feature in the follow-up whilst she was "in the middle of making the first movie" and everything will be explained properly when the final cut of the film hits cinemas.
Patty said: "I thought of what this next movie should be in the middle of making the first movie, so it wasn’t a solution to, ‘Oh god, that was worked out, let’s try to jam you in there.’ It’s all incredibly important to the story. It makes perfect sense, that’s all I can say."
The DC Extended Universe movie – which stars Gal Gadot as the titular superhero – was originally slated for release in November 2019, but it has now been delayed until June 5, 2020.
Chris Pine to star in Newsflash
