Recipient of the newly minted DGA award for Best First-Time Director, Ex Machina‘s Alex Garland is already deep into casting his follow-up, another sci-fi feature titled Annihilation. With Natalie Portman, Gina Rodriguez and Tessa Thompson on board, The Wrap now informs us that Jennifer Jason Leigh, coming off of The Hateful Eight and Anomalisa, will round out the quartet if talks go through. Adapted from Jeff VanderMeer‘s novel, it follows a group of women who embark on dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature don’t apply. While it’s not said who plays who yet, it follows an anthropologist, a surveyor, a psychologist, and a biologist.
Coming off of Mad Max: Fury Road, Charlize Theron may take part in another bout of vehicular chaos. Deadline reports that she’s being eyed to star in the Fast 8 as the female villain. Although the part has yet to be offered, Straight Outta Compton‘s F. Gary Gray will kick off production in around two months, so expect confirmation soon.
Next up, after building a career on her comedy skills, Amy Schumer is getting dramatic. THR reports she’ll join Miles Teller in Thank You For Your Service. Scripted and directed by American Sniper‘s Jason Hall it follows an Iraq veteran’s post-combat struggles, albeit more explicitly, as the David Finkel-penned source material angles toward the struggles so often endured by soldiers forced into societal reintegration with little help from superiors or proper understanding from loved ones. Also starring Haley Bennett, Joe Cole, Beulah Koale, Scott Haze, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Brad Beyer, Omar Dorsey, and Jayson Warner Smith, production is already underway.
In related news, Schumer is also developing an untitled mother-daughter feature she plans to star alongside Goldie Hawn in, directed by Jonathan Levine. The 20th Century Fox project, produced by Paul Feig, would mark Hawn’s first feature in 15 years (assuming it gets a 2017 release) and The Wrap reports it follows a “family vacation gone wrong.”
Which of the above projects are you most looking forward to?