Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley Reunite for Benh Zeitlin's Outlaw Romance 'Hold On To Your Angels'

The film, which is expected to launch in the Cannes market, will be written and directed by Zeitlin, best known for Beasts of the Southern Wild and Wendy.

Production banner Plan B, known for films including F1 and Moonlight, will produce the project alongside producer Alex Coco under his Rapt Film banner. Production is scheduled to begin in February.

Set on the edge of South Louisiana, the story follows a hell-bound outlaw played by Mescal and a fierce shepherd of lost souls portrayed by Buckley, who fall into a "catastrophic love" as their collapsing bayou world pulls them under.

Speaking about the project, Zeitlin described the film as an emotional and deeply personal story.

"'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," Zeitlin said, according to Variety.

"I've been dreaming of telling it since its hero, Pam Harper, 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," he added.

Production company Plan B praised Zeitlin's storytelling vision and described the project as an ambitious epic romance.

"Benh Zeitlin absolutely stunned us and the world at large with the cosmic sorcery of Beasts Of The Southern Wild," Plan B said in a statement.

"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," the statement added, as per the outlet.

Producer Alex Coco also highlighted Zeitlin's unique filmmaking approach.

"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," Coco said, according to Variety.

- ANI