All We Know About Danny Boyle’s Upcoming Murdoch Drama, Ink
Danny Boyle is known for both his more fantastical films, like 28 Days Later and Yesterday, and for his more grounded, biographical dramas, like Slumdog Millionaire and Steve Jobs. While the director revisited the 28 Days franchise last year, his next film, Ink, looks to be more in the second category, and stars a strong core trio: Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy. It’s based on the stage play of the same name by James Graham, and will delve into the life and career of media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Here’s all we know so far:
What is Ink about?
Rupert Murdoch has inspired plenty of film and TV depictions over the years (Succession, anyone?), and Ink will certainly attract attention for that- but the story actually focuses principally on O’Connell’s character, Larry Lamb. Lamb was the editor of The Sun, one of Britain’s most-read and most controversial newspapers, which Murdoch bought up. Assuming the film adaptation follows the play’s story pretty closely, we’ll likely begin in the late 1960s as Murdoch (played by Guy Pearce) is in negotiations to buy the failing paper. He’s keen to revitalise the paper and turn it into a success, no matter how aggressively it moves against its competitors.
Lamb once worked for The Daily Mirror, and now, as the new editor of the relaunched Sun, is one of its main rivals, and is happy to get back a bit as his former employer. But as we’ll discover, Murdoch’s ruthless pursuit of gobbling up market share and appealing to readers with increasingly salacious journalism leads to ripple effects across society. Lamb was also the editor under whom The Sun began its infamous Page 3 section, so expect all of that to feature and more in the new adaptation.
But as we’ll discover, Murdoch’s ruthless pursuit of gobbling up market share and appealing to readers with increasingly salacious journalism leads to ripple effects across society.
What else do we know, and is there a release date?
While we know these key details, there is still much under wraps about the film, namely Claire Foy’s character and the rest of the cast. We also have a first look image of O’Connell as Lamb (but nothing yet of Pearce as Murdoch), but expect plenty more to be revealed soon. Ink will arrive in UK cinemas in 2027.
