UPDATE: CinemaBlend has learned through official sources that the film is called The Apprentice and that, although Sebastian Stan is attached via Jeremy Strong and Maria Bakalova, it will be an ensemble effort that will focus firmly on Stan’s Donald Trump. The original article can be read below, with further adjustments.
Although Sebastian Stan is arguably best known for portraying Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the actor is also quite experienced with playing real-life individuals. He most recently did this in the 2023 movie release Dumb Money, where he played Vlad Tenev, the CEO of Robinhood Markets. Now word’s come in that Stan is on deck to play former US president Donald Trump in an upcoming movie, and now I can’t unsee the resemblance.
To be clear, Stan is not betting on a modern-day Trump, but on the man of the ’70s and ’80s, when he was building his real estate empire. This casting news comes to us from Deadline, who also shared that this movie is called The Apprentice. This film will also explore the dates between Trump and his lawyer Roy Cohn, who died in 1986.
Stan reportedly joins the cast of The Apprentice via Succession’s Jeremy Strong and Borat 2’s Maria Bakalova, with the former betting on Cohn and the latter betting on Donald Trump’s first wife, Ivana. Behind the scenes, Cannes winner Ali Abbasi is directing, Gabriel Sherman wrote the screenplay and production began this week. Here is the connection line for the project:
THE APPRENTICE is an exploration of strength and ambition in a world of corruption and deceit. It’s a mentor-protégé story that chronicles the origins of an American dynasty. Full of giant characters, it is the ethical and human burden of a culture. explained through winners and losers.
Although I would never have had a clue about Sebastian Stan and Donald Trump at the same time before, watching them side by side, I can understand why the former chose the latter. The facial design is similar, so if we have to choose a Hollywood star to play Trump in their 30s and 40s, Stan is a faked choice. However, it is evidently mandatory to reserve judgment on whether it will do justice to its role until at least some images are released.
In addition to his recent outing as Vlad Tenev, other real-life individuals Stan has played include Jeff Gillooly in I, Tonya (which can be streamed with a Max subscription) and Tommy Lee in Pam & Tommy (which is exclusive to Hulu subscribers). The actor’s other recent credits include The 355, Fresh, Sharper and Ghosted, and he’ll next be seen in the A24 thriller A Different Man, although it doesn’t have a specific release date yet. Additionally, Stan will reprised Bucky Barnes in Thunderbolts, one of the many upcoming Marvel movies.
CinemaBlend will continue to cover The Apprentice as more important details come in. For now, check out our 2024 movie calendar to find out what cinematic entertainment has in store for the year ahead.
Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He’s aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.
Rachel Zegler, John Stamos and others have reacted to the fact that Glen Powell and his circle of family were dressed as Buddy The Elf, and their comments are a
‘I Was Just So Madly In Love With Shane West’: Mandy Moore Remembers Working On A Walk To Remember And How Far She’s Come In Hollywood
‘Shouldn’t a comic book be fun?’: Full House’s John Stamos Recalls Doubting Dave Coulier and What Made Him Change His Mind
Cinemablend is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.