Reese Witherspoon to star in West Memphis Three drama, Devil’s Knot

Witherspoon will play the mother of a real-life murder victim in West Memphis Three drama, Devil’s Knot

Based on investigative reporter Mara Leveritt’s book: The True Story of the West Memphis Three, a new film chronicling the legal trials of the three teenagers sentenced for the murder of three young boys in 1993, and the series of appeals which led to their release this summer.

The Sweet Hereafter director,, is set to helm Devil’s Knot, a project which has been in development since 2006 and which is being given a rewrite to incorporate the news of this August. Reese Witherspoon will play Pam Hobbs, the mother of one of the murdered boys who comes to believe that the three men convicted for the crime are innocent.

Witherspoon can next be seen in lighter fare, Disney comedy Wish List, and Jeff Nichols’ drama Mud alongside Matthew McConaughey, before she begins filming Devil’s Knot next summer.