Hamnet stars Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley reunite for 'outlaw romance'

Hamnet stars Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley are reuniting onscreen to tell an "impossible love story".

The pair played husband and wife in 2025 historical drama Hamnet, which earned Jessie an Academy Award for Best Actress, and now they are coming back together to star in Hold on to Your Angels which has been written by Beasts of the Southern Wild director Benh Zeitlin and is described as an "outlaw romance".

Zeitlin, who will direct Hold on to Your Angels, said in a statement: "Hold on to Your Angels is the most impossible love story I’ve ever witnessed - an outlaw romance for the end of America, set on the crumbling edge of South Louisiana.

"I’ve been dreaming of telling it since its hero, Pam Harper [who played Little Jo], walked into an audition for Beasts of the Southern Wild seventeen years ago.

"It’s a love letter to an endangered way of life - and a rallying cry for empathy across a fractured planet."

A synopsis for the new film describes Paul's character as "a hell-bound outlaw" while Jessie will play "a ferocious shepherd of lost souls" and they "fall in catastrophic love as their crumbling bayou paradise drags them under".

Hold on to Your Angels will be produced by Brad Pitt's production company Plan B and it's scheduled to start filming in February.

A statement from Plan B added: "Benh Zeitlin absolutely stunned us and the world at large with the cosmic sorcery of Beasts Of The Southern Wild.

"With Hold On To Your Angels, Benh has set his powerful mix of intense realism, myth, and magic against the large scale of an epic love story.

"This is a writer/director with a vision for the ages and we could not be more proud to be by his side to make this film with Jessie and Paul."

Anora producer Alex Coco is also onboard and he said in a statement: "After years of working with filmmakers that explore the overlooked corners of our world, I can recognize Benh Zeitlin as a filmmaker with that rare gift: the ability to reveal profound beauty and humanity in parts of America that seldom find their way onto the silver screen."