Charles Melton joins new film ‘May December‎’ as male lead

Charles Melton (‘Riverdale’ ‘Bad Boys for Life’) joins the lead role in the new film ‘May December‎’ starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, directed by Todd Haynes (‘Carol‎’).

Joe (Melton) is a 36-year-old man who is married to Gracie (Julianne Moore). About 20 years ago, Joe and Gracie had a scandalous romantic relationship, when she was his teacher. They are parents to twins who are graduating from high school.

Melton is well-known for playing Reggie Mantle in The CW’s Riverdale. His other previous work includes Secret Headquarters, directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, and Heart of Champions, directed by Michael Mailer.

In a meta move, May December’s plot follows a movie about to be made about Joe and Gracie’s life.

An actress named Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) is set to play Gracie in the movie about the couple and spends time with the family to get a better idea of the character she is about to play.

However, having another person’s point of view leads Joe to start to confront what happened to him when he was younger — and what’s happening now.

The film will be directed by Todd Haynes whose previous work includes The Velvet Underground, Dark Waters, and Wonderstruck. Samy Burch wrote the script for the film. Burch also worked on the story with Alex Mechanik.

“What so appealed to me about Samy Burch’s exceptional script was how it navigated potentially volatile subject matter with a kind of observational patience that allowed the characters in the story to be explored with uncommon subtlety,” Haynes previously said about the film.

Gloria Sanchez Productions’ Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, Killer Films’ Christine Vachon, and Pam Koffler will be producers for the film.

The film will also be produced by Grant S. Johnson and Tyler W. Konney through their production companies Project Infinity and Taylor and Dodge. Portman and Sophia Mas will also be producers through MountainA.