About 60 years ago Sal Paradise went on the most iconic road trip of all time. It took awhile, but the film adaptation of On the Road is set to film this summer. And with that, casting has begun on Paradise’s friends. According to Production Weekly, Garrett Hedlund (Four Brothers, Friday Night Lights) will play Dean Moriarty in the film. Before he sets out on the road, Hedlund will appear on the big screen in Tron Legacy, due out this summer. Moriarty is based on Kerouac’s Beat Generation pal, Neal Cassady, and is one of the central figures in the story.
Walter Salles will direct On the Road. Francis Ford Coppolla, who owns the rights to the story, brought on Salles because the guy knows a thing or two about legendary and life changing stories of the road. He directed The Motorcycle Diaries, about Che Guevara’s two-wheeled journey through South America.
In Moriarty, Hedlund will play Sal Paradise’s friend, partner in crime, sometimes hero and tortured soul who seeks adventure at the cost of his family and responsibilities. On the Road will begin filming this summer.
