EXCLUSIVE: Margaret Qualley has pulled out of playing Amanda Knox in Hulu‘s upcoming limited series for scheduling reasons.
Qualley, two-time Emmy nominee for Netflix’s Maid and FX’s Fosse/Verdon, just saw her two upcoming movies, Kinds of Kindness and The Substance, both get selected to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Recently seen in Poor Things, she is currently filming Honey Don’t! and has other features lined up.
The untitled Hulu limited series from writer KJ Steinberg and 20th Television in association with The Littlefield Company, was officially greenlighted last month with Qualley on board to star and executive produce. The role is now being recast. The development won’t impact production plans as the eight-episode project is scheduled to start filming in October.
The limited series covers Knox’s 16-year journey to set herself free after being wrongfully convicted for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher.
Steinberg executive producer with Warren Littlefield, Lisa Harrison, Ann Johnson, & Graham Littlefield of The Littlefield Company; as well as Monica Lewinsky, Knox and Chris Robinson of Knox Robinson Productions.
Hulu and 20th TV found themselves in a similar situation in 2021 with another true crime-based limited series, The Dropout, about the disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. Kate McKinnon, originally attached to star and executive produced, dropped out. Amanda Seyfried was subsequently cast in the lead role, winning an Emmy. Meanwhile, McKinnon went on to co-star in the biggest movie of last year, Barbie.