Well, it’s not Martin Scorsese’s Kool-Aid movie from “The Studio” but it’s close. In the vein of Jerry Seinfeld’s “Unfrosted” and Eva Longoria-produced Cheeto film “Flamin’ Hot” (plus all of the other brand-centric “biopics” corporations love), Variety reported that a “Hershey” film is in the works with Finn Wittrock portraying chocolatier Milton Hershey.
As “The Studio” parodies outrageous films based on consumer product brands, the timing for the announcement of “Hershey” seems like a serendipitous case of reality mirroring satire (no offense to the “Hersey” project, though).
Wittrock will play Milton Hershey, who built an eponymous candy empire with a philanthropic legacy. Alexandra Daddario portrays Milton’s wife Kitty Hershey; the duo cofounded the Hershey Industrial School in 1909 to provide free education and housing to orphans and underprivileged children. Milton later transferred the majority of his fortune into the Milton Hershey School Trust, “planting the seed for one of the wealthiest educational endowments in the country,” Variety lists. “In developing a town around their chocolate factory, the Hersheys also built theaters, recreation centers and public transportation for their workers.”
“Hershey” will be directed by “Mean Girls” and “Freaky Friday” helmer Mark Waters. The feature will begin filming in May across Pennsylvania for a 2026 release; it does not yet have a distributor attached. UTA is representing worldwide rights. “Hershey” is produced by Sharon Paul, Mark Tilghman, Mary Aloe, Joshua Harris, and Will Hardy, with Daniel Hank, Joseph Lanius, Flip and Susan Flippen, and Joanne Marlowe executive producing.
“Against all odds, Milton achieved great success, but unlike a lot of other wealthy men of his time, he shared his success with the working people and community around him,” director Waters told Variety. “The core of ‘Hershey,’ the movie, will be the special love story between Milton and Catherine Hershey, who inspired his greatest legacy — the creation of Milton Hershey School. I’m excited to have Finn Wittrock and Alexandra Daddario to portray these two visionaries, who believed in leaving the world a better place than they found it — the kind of wonderful, true story that audiences are hungry for right now.”
