It has been a banner year for Andre Garfield, from scoring his second Oscar nomination for the musical Tick, Tick… Boom! to the runaway success of the billion-dollar blockbuster Spider-Man: Far from Home. After his Best Actor nom, Garfield scored big on the television side with his first Emmy nomination for the Hulu miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven. While others might let their nomination soak in, the Spider-Man: Far from Home star has another TV role lined up where he’ll play a famed billionaire.
Deadline reports that the Under the Banner of Heaven actor will play famous British entrepreneur and innovator Richard Branson in a new limited series titled Hot Air. Not only will the Emmy nominee star in the series, but he'll serve as an executive producer on the biopic miniseries, as well. The project is currently a hot property in Hollywood as multiple platforms and networks are reportedly in a bidding war to secure Hot Air for themselves.
The limited series takes its story from the book Dirty Tricks: British Airways’ Secret War Against Virgin Atlantic by Martyn Gregory. The book recounts Richard Branson’s fight against the iconic airline after learning the company was trying to sabotage his airline Virgin Atlantic in its early days, including digging for inside information and planting false stories. The whole ordeal led to a high-profile case between the British businessman and the U.K.-based airline, where Branson came up victorious.
With Garfield starring in and executive producing the miniseries, Paddington 2 scribe Jon Croker will pen the entire series. He’ll also serve as an executive producer alongside the Tick, Tick… Boom! star. The television-meets-film approach filters over to the visuals as Deadpool 2 director David Leitch is reportedly attached to direct the series.
Leitch’s production company 87North will produce the biopic miniseries with Kelly McCormick and Dan Seligmann on board. Michael Grade, Peter Gerwe, and Ivan Dunleavy of production house StoryFirst will produce the project in conjunction with 87North. As part of the deal, Universal International Studios will oversee the entire production.
Right now, it is currently unknown where or when Hot Air will premiere. Hopefully, the new series won’t affect the Eyes of Tammy Faye actor’s acting break. It’s uncertain if the project will commence before or after his much-deserved time-off.
While Andrew Garfield gave a stellar performance in Under the Banner of Heaven, he is facing stiff competition from the likes of Colin Firth, Oscar Isaac, and Michael Keaton for Lead Actor in a Limited Series, among other 2022 Emmy nominees. Of course, there were plenty of snubs, including This is Us and black-ish, that viewers are still talking about. Outside of the Primetime Emmys, there are still a sizable number of new and returning TV shows premiering this year. These shows could be future competitors for next year’s Emmys once the 2023 nominations come out.
