Deadline reportsBlack Panther star Letitia Wright will play twin sisters June and Jennifer Gibbons in the film The Silent Twins, based on the 1986 book of the same name by Marjorie Wallace.
The story of the Gibbons sisters is an odd yet disturbingly fascinating one, to say the least. It’s the type of material that should allow Wright to flex her acting muscle, which earned her an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie in 2018 for her work in the “Black Museum” episode of Black Mirror.
The Gibbons sisters turned to one another after becoming ostracized by their peers at school. June and Jessica remained silent towards others, and started interacting with each other in a language that only they could understand. They eventually turned to creative writing, creating dark-themed novels with the hopes of having their work published.
In their late teens, the Gibbons sisters’ lives took another bizarre turn when they were committing crimes, such as arson, theft, and vandalism. They were admitted to Broadmoor Hospital, a high security mental health facility. They remained there for 11 years.
During their stay, June and Jessica exhibited behavior that was considered “deeply disturbed and dangerous” by doctors, according to a 2015 NPR report.
“Some days, only one twin would eat, and the next day, the other would indulge as her sister starved,” the report stated. “Other times, nurses would find them frozen in the same pose, even though they were locked in cells on opposite ends of the hospital.”
Before they were transferred out of Broadmoor to another facility, The Silent Twins author recalls Jennifer telling her, “I’m going to have to die.” Wallace said that the sisters made a pact that one of them had to give up their life the day they left Broadmoor in order for the other sibling to be free to live a normal, speaking life.
In the commute over to their new facility, Jennifer fell into a coma, and died a short while later of acute myocarditis. She was only 29.
