In an effort to expand its library of stories inspired by real people and events, Netflix will produce Nyad, an exciting biopic based on author, journalist and swimmer Diana Nyad. At the age of 64, she became the first person to swim the 110-mile distance from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage.
Directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, known for their documentary work, including the Oscar-winning Free Solo, are making their narrative debut with the drama. Emmy winner Ann Biderman (Ray Donovan) and Black List scribe Julia Cox (Do No Harm) penned the script inspired by Nyad’s autobiography, Find a Way.
The project, produced by Andrew Lazar and Teddy Schwarzman, was developed by Mad Chance and Black Bear Pictures after being initially introduced to buyers at the European Film Market in March 2020.
What’s the plot of Nyad?
Diana Nyad is a long-distance swimmer who, in 2013 at the age of 64, became the first person to swim the 110-mile distance from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage. It was her fifth attempt, and she executed it by undertaking a 53-hour journey through the dangerous open ocean that included overcoming not just sharks but poisonous jellyfish. Here is the logline for the Netflix biopic itself:
When Diana Nyad arrived on the shore of Key West after fifty-three hours of grueling swimming across an epic ocean, she not only set a world record— becoming the first person to swim the shark-infested waters between Cuba and Florida with no cage for protection—she also succeeded in fulfilling a dream she first chased at age twenty-eight and at long last achieved when she was sixty-four.
Who is cast in Nyad?
Oscar nominee Annette Bening is set to play Diane Nyad in the Netflix biopic. Bening’s most recent credits include Death on the Nile, Georgetown, and Captain Marvel.
Oscar-winner Jodie Foster will play Nyad’s coach and longtime friend Bonnie Stoll. Her involvement with the project was announced by THR back in January 2022. Foster recently appeared alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in The Mauritanian.
What’s the production status of Nyad?
Netflix’s Nyad biopic is currently in active development meaning the script is currently being written and revised with pre-production following later. The production for the movie is planned to get underway this year. Filming is to take place in the Dominican Republic according to Production Weekly.
What’s the Netflix release date for Nyad?
Netflix hasn’t set a date for Nyad, but considering the very early production stages, it probably won’t be out in 2022 or at least not anytime soon.
