Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan to star in Paul Dano's Wildlife

Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan will appear onscreen together for the first time in Wildlife, the upcoming directorial debut from actor Paul Dano.

Dano, who starred in Swiss Army Man opposite Daniel Radcliffe and played Pierre Bezukhov in BBC One’s adaptation of War and Peace, announced the project in June. Based on Richard Ford’s novel, Wildlife is a family drama centered on a boy whose parents’ marriage falls apart after his mother finds another man. It hasn’t been confirmed what roles Gyllenhaal and Mulligan will play.

“In Richard’s book I saw myself and many others. I have always wanted to make films – and have always known I would make films about family,” Dano said in a statement. “I couldn’t be happier to have such beautiful collaborators like Carey and Jake leading the way.”

Dano co-wrote the screenplay for Wildlife with his partner Zoe Kazan, who wrote the 2012 romantic comedy Ruby Sparks, in which both she and Dano starred. Wildlife is Dano’s first script.

Gyllenhaal’s most recent film, Tom Ford’s thriller Nocturnal Animals, was recently screened at the Venice and Toronto film festivals. Mulligan was last seen in last year’s feminist period drama Suffragette; she recently finished production on the Mississippi Delta-set period drama Mudbound, opposite Jason Clarke and Garrett Hedlund.