Here's the weirdest piece of casting news you'll hear today: Matt Smith, aka The Crown's Prince Philip, has been cast as Charles Manson in a new movie.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Suki Waterhouse has also been cast in the upcoming movie Charlie Says, which is directed by American Psycho's Mary Harron. The movie will focus on the three young women – Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten – who were initially sentenced to death following the infamous Manson murder case. After the state of California changed its death penalty laws, their sentence changed to life imprisonment. A young graduate student, Karlene Faith (Merrit Wever) was sent in to teach them, and the film will follow their transformations as, through her, they face the reality of their crimes. Hannah Murray, Odessa Young and Marianne Rendon will play the three women.
Charlie Says was written by Guinevere Turner, who worked with Harron on American Psycho. The script is based both on Ed Sanders' 1971 book The Family, and on The Long Prison Journey of Leslie Van Houten, which was written by Faith.
Smith's tenure on The Crown is now over – the show is being entirely recast with older actors prior to its third season, with Paul Bettany due to take over as Prince Philip. Claire Foy, who has won two consecutive Screen Actors Guild awards for her performance as the young Queen Elizabeth II, also has a very different kind of role lined up next: she's taking over from Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in Dragon Tattoo sequel The Girl in the Spider's Web.
