The MCU’s Sebastian Stan Will Play a Young Donald Trump in Upcoming Movie The Apprentice

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Sebastian Stan, best known for his work as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier in various MCU projects, is now taking on a very different role: a young Donald Trump.

The news was first reported by Deadline on Wednesday. IGN has also confirmed that Succession star Jeremy Strong and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s Maria Bakalova will star alongside Stan in the ensemble film, with principal photography beginning this week.

Per the Deadline report, the movie will take place as Trump builds his New York real estate business in the ’70s and ’80s, “also digging into his relationship with infamous attorney Roy Cohn.” Strong is reportedly set to play Cohn, while Bakalova will play Trump’s first wife, Ivana.

“The Apprentice is an exploration of power and ambition set in a world of corruption and deceit,” reads a statement from the production. “It’s a mentor-protege story that charts the origins of an American dynasty. Filled with larger than life characters, it reveals the moral and human cost of a culture defined by winners and losers.”

The Apprentice will be directed by Ali Abbasi, the director behind acclaimed Persian-language crime thriller Holy Spider. The script is by Gabriel Sherman, who wrote The Loudest Voice in the Room about former Fox News president Roger Ailes, which was used as the basis of a 2019 Showtime miniseries starring Russell Crowe.

Stan first burst onto the MCU scene in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger as Bucky Barnes, the former childhood best friend of Captain America (Chris Evans) turned brainwashed super-soldier. He’d reprise the role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

But he’s been busy since the MCU, too, earning an Emmy nomination for his role as Tommy Lee in Hulu miniseries Pam & Tommy. He also recently appeared in Dumb Money, which chronicles the GameSpot short squeeze of 2021, as well last year’s horror-thriller Fresh.

Strong, meanwhile, finished his star-making turn as Kendall Roy in Succession earlier this year. Bakalova nabbed an Oscar nomination for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm in 2021, and also appeared in Bodies Bodies Bodies and The Bubble.

Thumbnail credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.