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Brendan Fraser to star in Darren Aronofsky's The Whale , about man with compulsive eating disorder

Brendan Fraser
Brendan Fraser

Joe Scarnici/Getty Images Brendan Fraser

Oh mother! Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky has set his next movie to direct, and it's a whopper.

Aronofsky is at the helm of an adaptation of The Whale, MacArthur-winning playwright Samuel D. Hunter's stage play of the same name that Hunter will also write for the screen, EW has learned. Brendan Fraser will star.

The film will center on a reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.

"Adapting my play into a screenplay has been a real labor of love for me," Hunter said in a statement to Deadline Hollywood, which was the first to report the news. "This story is deeply personal and I'm very thankful it will have the chance to reach a wider audience. I've been a fan of Darren's ever since I saw Requiem for a Dream when I was a college freshman writing my first plays, and I'm so grateful that he's bringing his singular talent and vision to this film."

This is Aronofsky's first movie since mother! with Jennifer Lawrence. Fraser was last seen on Doom Patrol as Cliff Steele, in addition to voicing Cliff's alter-ego Robotman.

A24 Films, which holds worldwide rights, will release The Whale.

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