Barnes will take the lead role in an update of Oscar Wilde’s hedonistic cautionary tale THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY. The Faustian parable follows a handsome young lad who successfully wishes that his aging and sinful indulgences are reflected in a painting of himself, leaving him free to commit all sorts of debauchery without consequence. Which, of course, doesn’t last.
The project comes from producer Barnaby Thompson and director Oliver Parker, the team behind the girlschool comedy ST. TRINIAN’S (of which a sequel is also in the works). They plan to make GRAY a “visceral, dark horror story” about the themes of stardom.