| The Leader | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Michael Gallagher |
| Screenplay by | Michael Gallagher |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Ben Mullen |
| Edited by | Joel Blacker |
Production companies |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Leader is an upcoming historical crime film written and directed by Michael Gallagher and starring Vera Farmiga and Tim Blake Nelson as the leaders of the suicide-cult who became known as Heaven's Gate who in 1997 perpetrated the biggest ever mass suicide on US soil.
Nettles and Applewhite develop a religion that would become known as Heavens Gate, a UFO cult that told followers they could transform into immortal extraterrestrials and ascend to heaven, and led to the mass suicide of 39 people in identical clothing coinciding with the Hale-Bopp comet passing Earth in 1997. [1]
In February 2023 it was announced that Tim Blake Nelson, Vera Farmiga, and Simon Rex would star in The Leader, to be written and directed by Michael Gallagher. [2] [3] In October 2023, Michael C Hall and Grace Caroline Currey joined the cast. [4] In July 2025, it was announced that Jim Parsons had replaced Hall with Matthew Glave, William Mapother, JB Yowell, Kelly Lynn Reiter, Danielle Vasinova, Blake Robbins, Jana Gallagher, Paten Hughes, Molly Robbins, and Jill Winternitz rounding out the cast. [5] Filming took place in Louisville, Kentucky from late June to mid July. [6]