Vampire Diaries Star Nina Dobrev Cast In Murder Mystery Movie Reunion
Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev joins the cast of Reunion, a murder mystery ensemble comedy set at a high school reunion. Dobrev helmed the hit CW series for over fifteen years, later returning as a guest star. The Canadian actress played Elena Gilbert, a modern-day high school student who realizes her doppelgänger is a centuries-old vampire named Katherine Pierce. Before her role on The Vampire Diaries, Dobrev played Mia Jones on the popular Canadian teen TV drama Degrassi: The Next Generation. Dobrev has since starred on the sitcom Fam and acted in films including a Flatliners reboot and The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Variety reports that Dobrev has signed onto Reunion, a comedy from Artists Road that adds a murderous twist to a high school reunion story. Dobrev's role hasn't been announced. Also joining the cast are Jamie Chung (The Misfits), Michael Hitchcock (Black Monday), and Chace Crawford (The Boys). Lil Rel Howery (Get Out), Billy Magnussen (The Many Saints of Newark), and Jillian Bell (Brittany Runs a Marathon). Filming is set to start this week in Los Angeles.
Reunion was written by writing partners Jake Emanuel and Willie Block (The Edge of Sleep) and will be directed by Chris Nelson (The Perfect Date). Bell and Magnussen will both serve as executive producers along with Bob Shaye for Unique Features. Lil Rel Howery has also joined in a producing role alongside Mickey Schiff and Artists Road's Todd Garner, Ben Silverman, Peter Principato, and Mark Korshak. Spyglass' President of Production Peter Oillataguerre is supervising.
Dobrev has taken on a wide variety of shows and movies since The Vampire Diaries and seems understandably interested in mixing up her creative output after years of consistency. A murder mystery comedy such as Reunion sounds like a unique project with a cast that will be fun to see play off one another. The nature of both the whodunit genre and the reunion setup involves bringing together people who have grown apart, so the mashup of dramatic-leaning actors like Crawford and Chung and comedians like Howery and Bell is fitting.
Source: Variety