Actress Kirsten Dunst is teaming up with Channing Tatum and director Derek Cianfrance for Roofman, a film about Jeffrey Manchester, a man dubbed the “Rooftop Robber” or “Roofman.” The nickname comes from him robbing more than 60 McDonald’s restaurants by breaking in through the roof and locking the employees in the freezer. Manchester was known for his non-violence, but he was still able to lead police on a chase for months. This film depicts his time on the run from the law after the break-ins.
According to Deadline, Dunst will play a Toys “R” Us employee struggling to provide for her two daughters. The Roofman hid from police for months in a North Carolina Toys “R” Us store where he lived off of baby food, so this would presumably be the same store. Tatum plays the titular Roofman, while Cianfrance writes and directs.
Manchester was previously captured and sentenced to 45 years in prison after robbing two stores with a rifle. He ended up escaping from the prison facility by hiding underneath an outgoing truck. From there, he hitchhiked to Charlotte, NC and settled upon the Toys “R” Us to hide out in. When the holiday season started, he moved over to an abandoned Circuit City next door. He was eventually recaptured after his fingerprint was found on a DVD copy of Steven Spielberg’s aptly named Catch Me If You Can. Manchester is a former US Army officer.
Dunst Is Gearing Up for a Busy Awards Season
Dunst is coming off a critically acclaimed performance in Alex Garland’s Civil War, in which she plays an award-winning photojournalist who captures the horrors of war. The film was made on a $50 million budget and grossed $122.5 million worldwide, a number that makes it one of A24’s most successful films. Dunst was previously nominated for an Academy Award for her role in 2021’s The Power of the Dog. Director Jane Campion came away with the Best Director award.
With three years between those movies, and now a break between Civil War and Roofman, Dunst has become picky about her roles. In an interview with Variety, she explained that she doesn’t like to do movies just for money.
“I’m very picky,” she said. “But that also means I have long breaks where I don’t work. Like, I can’t do a project for the money. It’s just very hard for me to be like, ‘Yes!’ If it’s not in my heart, I can’t do it because I’ve been doing this for so long.”
Dunst skyrocketed to fame thanks to her role as Mary Jane Watson in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy. Although Tobey Maguire returned for Spider-Man: No Way Home, Dunst did not reprise her role. However, she confirmed that she was open to returning, but the filmmakers didn’t reach out and ask if she was interested. The ship seems to have sailed on her making a return in the MCU, so Roofman looks like the next time audiences will be seeing her on screen.