EXCLUSIVE: Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose is set to star in 87North’s With Love for Universal Pictures opposite Ke Huy Quan. Universal Pictures will release With Love wide on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. The film marks Huy Quan’s first starring role since winning the Oscar for best supporting actor with 87North’s Kelly McCormick and David Leitch, who also produced Atomic Blonde, Nobody and the upcoming summer pic The Fall Guy, will produce.
The pic is written by Josh Stoddard, Luke Passmore and Matthew Murray. Guy Danella is also producing for 87North. Making his feature film directing debut on With Love is acclaimed veteran stunt coordinator and fight coordinator Jonathan Eusebio. Plot details are being kept under wraps.
Universal’s Executive Vice President of Production Development Jay Polidoro and Director of Production Development Tony Ducret will oversee the project on behalf of the Studio.
After attaching Huy Quan to the starring role, producers and studio execs wanted to make sure his co-star was the perfect, meeting with a number of female actors for the highly-coveted part. Once DeBose got wind of the meetings, she became super aggressive in chasing the role ultimately landing after chem test with Huy Quan, that blew execs away.
DeBose is best known for her star turning performance in Steven Spielberg’s reimagining of West Side Story, for which she received an Academy Award in addition to BAFTA, Critics Choice and SAG Awards. Her feature film slate for 2024 is already packed and includes Sony Pictures highl-anticipated Marvel pic Kraven the Hunter and Blumhouse’s House of Spoils (Prime Video).
In the past 2 years, DeBose hosted the 75th and 76th Annual Tony Awards, the former for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Variety Special.” She received a Tony nomination for her performance in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, and was also an original cast member of the hit Broadway production of Hamilton as well as the Emmy Award winning film version that was later released on Disney+.
She is repped by CAA, AC Management and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.