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Mary J. Blige and Lukas Haas are joining the coming-of-age romance The Violent Heart, with stars Grace Van Patten and Jovan Adepo.

Writer-director Kerem Sanga (First Girl I Loved) is behind the feature that is set just outside Ft. Hood, Texas. It follows Cassie (Van Patten), a college-bound senior on the cusp of graduation, and her budding relationship with a local mechanic named Daniel (Adepo), who dreams of becoming a Marine. As they fall for each other, the details surrounding Daniel's tragic and violent past inevitably catch up with them.

Blige will play Nina, a mother who manages to hold her family together after the murder of her daughter while her Marine husband is on deployment in Afghanistan. Haas will play Cassie's attentive and protective father, Joseph, who is wary of his daughter's mysterious relationship with an older boy.

Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen of 21 Laps Entertainment will produce with Ed McDonnell, Toby Maguire's Material Pictures and 3311.

Blige, who earned an Oscar nomination for her role in Dee Rees' Mudbound, will next be seen in the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy and horror thriller Body Cam from Paramount Players.