Jack Huston To Direct Film About The Elephant Man

Coming off his underseen 2024 boxing gem, “Day of the Fight,” Jack Huston has set up his next film which will tackle the life of a very familiar figure, especially if you’re a David Lynch fan.

Huston is directing a biopic based on the life of Joseph Merrick, more well known as The Elephant Man. Lynch directed a devastating 1980 film about Merrick, but Huston promises that his film will be a very different tackling.

Merrick, a severely deformed man in 19th-century London, was exploited as a sideshow attraction before being taken in by the compassionate Dr. Frederic Treves. Lynch’s film, shot in black and white, explored themes of human dignity, compassion, and societal cruelty.

Originally a 1977 Broadway play by Bernard Pomerance, the film version was a critical and commercial success, and one of the great biopics of the 20th century, earning eight Oscar nominations including Picture, Director and Actor.

Huston made his directorial debut with the atmospheric “Day of the Fight,” starring Michael Pitt as a once renowned boxer who has since fallen on hard times. The film premiered in the Orizzonti section of the 80th Film Festival, and had a very low-key release a year later. If one were to compile a list of the severely underseen gems of 2024, “Day of the Fight” would have to be included.

Huston shot “Day of the Fight” in black and white, will he do the same for his Merrick biopic? I sure hope not. He should probably distance himself, as much as possible, to Lynch’s film and create his own uniquely separate vision. It’d be a fool’s errand to try and one-up late DP Freddie Francis’ stark and haunting, usage of high-contrast black-and-white in the 1980 film.

Before Huston decided to become a filmmaker, he was known for his roles in “Boardwalk Empire,” “American Hustle” and “The Longest Ride.” He is part of the famed Huston family, with his grandfather being director John Huston and his aunt, actress Anjelica Huston.