Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, and Gina Rodriguez to Star in Female-Led Sci-Fi Film by Ex Machina‘s Alex Garland
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a Jewish actress, a Latina actress, and a black actress star in a mainstream sci-fi film… Wait. It’s not a joke? This is real? OMG, THIS IS REAL. *has heart attack* *dies* *resurrects herself using various magic stuff so that she can live to SEE THIS MOVIE.*
Alex Garland, writer/director of the amazing sci-fi film, Ex Machina (not to mention writer of 28 Days Later and author of The Beach), has adapted Jeff VanderMeer’s 2014 novel Annihilation, and is set to direct the film for Paramount. Oscar winner Natalie Portman and Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez are already attached, and now Tessa Thompson of Creed and Dear White People fame is in talks to round out the main cast.
As reported by The Nerdy Bird, Annihilation is:
[P]art of the Southern Reach Trilogy which features a team of composed of a biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist, and a surveyor who are the 12th expedition sent into Area X. The characters aren’t given names, the story is told through the biologist’s journal.
Sounds like an exciting adventure! And the fact that all four of those roles are female in the original source material as well as in this film is even more exciting. I kinda wish the film were written and directed by a woman as well, but if you’ve seen Ex Machina, you know that Garland is completely capable of telling the story of a female character in a nuanced, respectful, and accurate way. Even if she is an AI.
Meanwhile, this cast is amazeballs. I’ve always loved me some Natalie Portman, and as a fellow Puerto Rican and huge fan of Jane the Virgin, I’m really excited that Gina Rodriguez is taking to the big screen in a project of this caliber. Now, with Thompson joining the cast, I know that this entire group of actresses is solid. With that kind of talent in front of the camera, and Garland behind it, I already want to give this film all my money.
Are you as excited as I am? Have you read the Southern Reach Trilogy and wanna tell us what you think? And what actress would you like to see in the fourth role? Hit us up in the comments!
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