Back in July 2020, it looked like Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts were going to star in novel adaptation Leave The World Behind, with Netflix lining up its latest package of big name actors. While it didn't quite work out for Washington (Mahershala Ali has since stepped into his role), the movie is still going ahead, with Ethan Hawke, Myha’la Herrold, Ryan Kiera Armstrong and Charlie Evans now all aboard.
Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail adapted Rumaan Alam's novel and will direct the film. The story follows a couple called Amanda and Clay, whose aspirational vacation with their teenage children is interrupted by the arrival of a middle aged couple who own the holiday home and who have fled an unprecedented blackout in the city. When the internet, television and radio stop working, as does the landline, they have no way of finding out what is happening. As strange sonic booms shatter the peace of the countryside, and animals start to migrate in strange ways, the physical and mental health of the families begins to disintegrate. The renters are upscale and White; the owners are upscale and Black. The issues of race and clash become distractions to the more alarming things are happening all around them...
It's taken long enough in development that Alam's novel has gone from "upcoming" to on shelves for more than a year, but the casting additions point to it shooting before too long.