From broomsticks to ravens, Harry Potter actor Harry Melling will be taking on one of the most mature roles in his career to date in Netflix’s upcoming movie The Pale Blue Eye. Directed by Scott Cooper (Hostiles), and starring alongside a-list actor Christian Bale, Melling will be playing a young Edgar Allan Poe, the famous gothic writer and poet.
Since playing Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter movies, Melling has garnered an impressive list of leading roles under his acting belt. His most notable acting credit being the recurring character, Harry Beltik, in the hit Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit. Besides his time as that Kentucky chess player, he also has several projects in post-production, including the newest adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth starring Denzel Washington, and the upcoming film Please Baby Please, starring Demi Moore.
However, news of his recent casting in the Cooper and Bale produced passion project The Pale Blue Eye stands out in his filmography, and promises to launch him into stardom as he takes on the beloved literary figure Edgar Allan Poe.
According to Deadline, the young star will be playing Poe in 1830, and will be following a character reimagining from the Louis Bayard novel, also titled The Pale Blue Eye. For any The Raven fans, it may seem strange that the classic horror figure Poe isn’t going to be the star of a horror movie but instead will be brought to life as a side character in a murder mystery.
Scott has confirmed that he is adapting Bayard’s novel personally, leading fans to guess the plot ahead of the production’s release date. In the novel, Poe is a young cadet who ends up helping detective Augustus Landor (Bale) investigate a suspicious death at the military academy West Point. No horror has been confirmed just yet, but fans can still wait hopefully for any spooky updates regarding Melling’s character.
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