While Madden will have his work cut out for him as dark, brooding Frederick, Angelo may prove a challenge for the most seasoned actor (as the disastrous stage adaptation from the early oughts has eloquently shown). Whoever bears the brunt of that role and shares the stage with Madden—a man unaccustomed to sharing the spotlight—will have to be an egoistic diva in his own right, or risk being utterly outperformed. With how many times The Throne has been in and out of production, those who claim the novel incompatible with the silver screen may well be proven right...

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UPDATE: Cast! In a strange turn of events, The Throne’s Angelo will be played by Christian Lavalle, better known for his Calvin Klein and Armani campaigns and his 1.5M Instagram followers than for his acting history. Lavalle, 25, became a Dior mainstay at the tender age of sixteen and has been steadily acquiring modeling gigs ever since; but his experience as an actor is limited to a few appearances in French soaps, television gigs, and international ads.

Casting a newbie to act opposite Nicholas Madden is certainly an odd choice. Can he strike up the right kind of chemistry with the Big Bad Wolf, or will Madden have to carry the movie’s huge emotional arc on his shoulders? Will The Throne crumple under its own weight?

At least he’s French.

Filming is set to begin in June.

June 2024. Paris.

Christian Lavalle was one of two things: a vapid boy-king without the skill and understanding to rival his good looks, or a devastatingly talented actor.

Nicholas very much doubted he was the latter.

The Parisian sun in June, warm and soft, spilled like liquid gold over the cobblestones of the Place Colette, the butter-soft columns of the Comédie-Française, and the polished red tables of the café terrace. It was a gorgeous day in Paris. On a late afternoon like this, all one wanted to do was relax in the sun, wear a cool suit of clothes and sip a cocktail.

Nicholas mostly felt hot and overdressed. The sparkling water he had ordered had done nothing to cool him down. It had scattered strange butterflies in his stomach.

He and Lavalle had arrived within minutes of each other to their non-official meet and greet. Lavalle had immediately been waylaid by a horde of fans, and did not seem inclined to put a stop to their fawning.

Nicholas was not a patient man.

But the lean young man who held court in the middle of the Place Colette, surrounded by the gaggle of his devotees, drew his gaze and attracted his attention, inescapably.