Jon Bernthal is securing a solid fanbase for himself by playing roles like Shane on The Walking Dead and Frank Castle/The Punisher in the Netflix Marvel series Daredevil, and it's likely many of the fans he's earned during recent years will be intrigued by his latest project, director Jamie Dagg's thriller SWEET VIRGINIA.
Bernthal is taking the lead in the film, which goes into production on August 27th. He is joined in the cast by Imogen Poots (pictured below), Christopher Abbott, Rosemarie Dewitt, and Odessa Young.
Written by brothers Ben and Paul China, the SWEET VIRGINIA script was so well liked by studio and production company executives that it landed a spot on the Black List, an annual ranking of the most favored unproduced screenplays, in 2012.
Bernthal will be playing
a former rodeo star who unknowingly starts a rapport with a young man who is responsible for all of the violence that has suddenly gripped his small town.
Abbott is the dangerous young man in this equation.
SWEET VIRGINIA is being produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones of Automatik, Chris Ferguson of Oddfellows Entertainment, and Fernando Loureiro and Roberto Vasconcellos of Exhibit, who are also financing the film. XYZ Films is handling international sales and executive producing the film, along with Rian Cahill and Jesse Savath.