Sam Nivola, Nico Parker And Paul Giamatti To Star In ‘Grandgear’ From ‘Godzilla Minus One’ Director Takashi Yamazaki, J.J. Abrams And Sony Pictures

EXCLUSIVE: The sequel to Godzilla Minus One doesn’t bow until next month, but Takashi Yamazaki is already getting the wheels in motion for his first major studio pic, Grandgear, securing the cast to lead that movie. Sources tell Deadline that Sam Nivola and Nico Parker are set to join the pic, with Paul Giamatti in talks to board. Yamazaki is directing from an original screenplay he penned. Bad Robot’s J.J. Abrams is producing along with Glen Zipper. Plot is under wraps. Production is expected to start in 2027. While Giamatti was coveted for his role, the search for the two most prominent parts in the film was a thorough one and led to a round of chem tests that landed Nivola and Parker the parts. Watch on Deadline Nivola scored critical acclaim for his performance in this past season’s The White Lotus and was nominated for an Actor Award for Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. He is upcoming in Hulu’s series Phony opposite Connie Britton. His film credits include White Noise and Maestro. He is repped by UTA, Narrative and Sloane Offer. Parker won the Breakthrough Performance Award at Sundance for starring in Searchlight’s Suncoast opposite Woody Harrelson and Laura Linney, and was nominated for a BAFTA for Supporting Actress for her performance in HBO’s The Last of Us opposite Pedro Pascal. She plays the female lead in the live-action film How to Train Your Dragon. She is repped by WME and Curtis Brown Group. Giamatti can be seen next in the A24 dramedy The Debut, which made its world premiere at this year’s Telluride Film Festival; his performance already is gaining attention this award season. He is repped by UTA, Kipperman Management and Sloane, Offer. Yamazaki is a Japanese filmmaker and visual effects supervisor counted as one of Japan’s leading directors. He wrote, directed and led the visual effects team responsible for the global hit Godzilla Minus One, becoming first director since Stanley Kubrick to win an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. His follow-up, Godzilla Minus Zero, recently premiered at the New York Film Festival.