It has been announced that director Clint Eastwood’s new legal thriller, the Nicholas Hoult-starring Juror #2, will be released in early November following its premiere as the closing-night film of the American Film Institute’s AFI Fest at the end of October.
Juror #2 will be released in Ireland on Friday 1 November.
The film will receive its world premiere on closing night of the AFI Fest at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday 27 October – the latest honour for 94-year-old Eastwood.
“There is only one Clint Eastwood – and AFI is proud to present the world premiere of this next chapter in his historic canon,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO.
“We are honoured to bring the community together once again – artists and audiences – to celebrate an American icon.”
US entertainment trade publication The Hollywood Reporter says there has been “speculation” that Eastwood’s Juror #2 “will be a part of this year’s awards race, and that chatter will only increase now that it is opening during the heart of awards season and playing at AFI, just like his Oscar contenders American Sniper and Richard Jewell“.
“In this instance, however, the AFI Fest event is first and foremost intended to honour Eastwood’s long and iconic career, and it’s unclear if there will be an awards push for the film, according to sources,” The Hollywood Reporter adds.
Juror #2 stars Hoult as Justin Kemp, a family man serving as a juror in a high-profile murder trial.
Kemp is “struggling with a serious moral dilemma – one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict or free the wrong killer”.
The cast also includes Toni Collette, JK Simmons, Chris Messina, Gabriel Basso, Zoey Deutch, Cedric Yarbrough, Leslie Bibb, and Kiefer Sutherland.