We already know that Chris Evans will swap his shield and superpowers for something a little more ordinary in Mark Webb’s Gifted. Now Jenny Slate, Octavia Spencer, Lindsay Duncan and newcomer McKenna Grace will join him in the film.
Gifted, written by Tom Flynn, is a drama about Frank Adler, a deliberate underachiever, who is raising his niece Mary (Grace), in rural Florida. When he enrols her in school for the first time, she is labelled as gifted. All Frank wants is for Mary to have a normal life, but standing in his way is her mother Evelyn (Slate), who wants to exploit her abilities. So being proactive for once, he sues to win custody of the girl. Webb is looking to have that one shooting in the coming months.
Slate, who scored praise for her performance in Obvious Child, has been working steadily recently. She’s currently filming a role in Brain On Fire opposite Chloe Grace Moretz and will be seen in indies My Blind Brother and Joshy. Next year we’ll also hear her as the voice of Gidget in The Secret Life Of Pets, the next ‘toon from the Illumination team, set to arrive on June 24.