Danny Boyle to Direct ‘Ink’ — Rupert Murdoch Biopic Starring Guy Pearce and Jack O’Connell

Hot off the strong reviews he garnered for “28 Years Later,” Danny Boyle has set up his next film at Studiocanal Production.

Boyle is set to direct “Ink,” a film centered on the meteoric rise of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. Guy Pearce is in talks to play the media mogul, while Jack O’Connell will portray Larry Lamb, the editor Murdoch brought in to run The Sun after buying it in 1969.

The film, adapted by James Graham from his own stage play, is said to tackle the birth of the modern British tabloid. According to Deadline, it’s “an explosive cinematic rollercoaster” about a group of visionaries and misfits who envisioned a new kind of news—one designed to give the public exactly what they wanted, and in the process, reshaping the media landscape forever.

Shooting is slated to begin this October.

Pearce, fresh off an Oscar-nominated turn in “The Brutalist,” was reportedly Boyle’s first choice to play Murdoch. The Australian actor had multiple options but ultimately couldn’t resist the chance to portray one of his country’s most notorious figures. O’Connell, meanwhile, was in Boyle “28 Years Later,” and will have his role expanded in the sequel, “28 Years Later: Bone Temple,” due in January.

No word yet whether the third ‘28 Years Later’ movie has been greenlit by Sony, but today’s announcement seems to indicate that Boyle, who is supposed to helm the final chapter, won’t be starting production on it anytime soon.

Boyle’s 30-year career has been nothing short of consistent with such helmed films as “28 Days Later,” “Trainspotting,” “127 Hours,” and “Slumdog Millionaire.”