Emmy-nominated actress McKenna Grace and child star Jojo Regina have been officially announced as stars in Spider & Jessie, an upcoming drama film from I.T. writer Dan Kay. Grace and Regina are also joined by Tony-nominated actor Jesse Williams, though his role hasn’t been detailed yet.
Spider & Jessie will tell the story of Spider (McKenna Grace) and Jessie (Jojo Regina), two sisters who find their mother dead after an opium overdose. Fearing that an “overburdened foster care system” would separate them, the sisters scramble to bury their mother and hide evidence of her death. However, the police chief, their mother’s drug counselor, and Spider’s temperamental ex-boyfriend all begin to poke holes in their ruse, eventually forcing the sisters “[to] decide just how far they are willing to go to keep their secret buried,” per Deadline.
McKenna Grace, Jesse Williams, and Jojo Regina in ‘Spider & Jessie’
McKenna Grace, known for her roles in Gifted (2017) and Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale (2021), will join Spider & Jessie as Spider, the older sister of the pair who must deal with a volatile ex while keeping herself and her sister safe. Regarding her casting in the film, Grace told Deadline:
McKenna Grace is joined by Jesse Williams, known for his roles as Dr. Jackson Avery in Grey’s Anatomy (2009) and Station 19 (2020), along with Holden in The Cabin in the Woods. Williams describes Spider & Jessie as “shining a light on the shared human conditions that lead to and from addiction,” which allows people to express compassion for “those impacted today as well as for those pathologized in our recent past.”
Grace and Williams will star alongside Jojo Regina, a child actor who has starred as Little Kya in Where the Crawdads Sing (2022).
Spider & Jessie will be directed by Dan Kay (I.T.), who also served as a screenwriter for the film. Grace and Williams will also serve as executive producers Russell Gray, Yaniv Hoffman, and Leal Naim, with Tony Stopperan and Dan Sima producing.
Further information regarding the film, including a release date and detailed cast information, has not been released yet.
