Julia Roberts and the Oscar-nominated Viola Davis are set to star in a new drama revolving around white supremacists.

Per Deadline, the pair has agreed terms to headline Small Great Things, an adaptation of Jodi Picoult’s novel of the same name. No director or writers are attached as yet, though the project already has an ace card in the form of La La Land producer Marc Platt. DreamWorks Pictures will foster development, and with Roberts and Davis now locked in, we fully expect the studio to begin casting the net in search of the film’s supporting players.

Tackling themes of privilege, power, race and all of the underlying tensions they tend to evoke, Small Great Things is said to be loosely based on real events, chronicling the remarkable story of Ruth, a labor nurse with 20 years of experience under her belt. Stationed at a hospital in Connecticut, one...