The latest star to join the cast of the upcoming “Boston Strangler” movie is David Dastmalchian, an actor familiar to fans of Marvel’s “Ant-Man” franchise. “Boston Strangler” begins shooting around the city and suburbs next week.
The Hollywood Reporter first broke the news of Dastmalchian’s casting, in what was described as a “pivotal, undisclosed role.” The actor, known for his recent turns in “Dune” and “Suicide Squad,” joins Keira Knightley as well as Carrie Coon, Alessandro Nivola, and Oscar winner Chris Cooper, whose castings were announced last month.
Directed by Matt Ruskin and produced by 20th Century Studios, “Boston Strangler” will tell the story of Loretta McLaughlin (Knightley), the reporter who first connected the clues among a series of murders in Boston in the 1960s while working at the Boston Record American. Along with fellow reporter Jean Cole, McLaughlin wrote a four-part series about the murders, and first gave the killer the “Boston Strangler” moniker. She was later hired as editorial page editor at The Boston Globe.
Following the news of his casting, Dastmalchian posted a screenshot of the Hollywood Reporter article to his Instagram, and captioned it “boston” with a blue heart.
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Filming will begin in Belmont on Monday at the Winn Brook Elementary School and on Statler and Waterhouse roads, according to Belmont’s senior administrative coordinator Pam Callahan.
The school will be transformed into a police station, and filming will take place roughly between 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., according to a source familiar with production. The movie company paid the school $5,000 to allow it to film the building, the source said.
A house at 47 Statler Road will be used as reporter McLaughlin’s home, and the movie company is renting most of the private driveways on Statler and Waterhouse to park 1960s vehicles, according to the source. 20th Century Studios is also renting the Winn Brook field for $2,000 to put up a tent for the crews to use on breaks, the source said.
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The production will also be filming in the South End, as well as in Roxbury, Roslindale, Jamaica Plain, Braintree, Lynn, and Lowell. Filming will continue through January, according to the source.
In 2019, 20th Century Studios also filmed the short series “Defending Jacob” in Belmont. The town has also been the backdrop for 2004′s “The Judge” with Robert Downey Jr., and 2008′s “My Best Friend’s Girl,” featuring Arlington native Dane Cook.
“Boston Strangler” will become at least the fourth movie about the infamous murders. The most notable of them, released in 1968, starred Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, and George Kennedy.
Kevin Slane of Boston.com contributed to this report.
Brittany Bowker can be reached at brittany.bowker@globe.com. Follow her @brittbowker and also on Instagram @brittbowker.