Frances Fisher tends to specialise in tough, no-nonsense matriarchs, and that’s exactly what The Host’s director Andrew Niccol is looking for with the Stephenie Meyer adaptation. So it’s not a shock to learn that Fisher has joined the cast.
The Host finds the Twilight author in alien mode, chronicling the aftermath of an invasion by parasitic extra-terrestrial invaders known as Souls. These sneaky types merge with human minds and take them over, leaving a rag tag group of non-converted Earthlings to mount a resistance.
Saoirse Ronan is starring as Melanie, a young woman captured and inhabited by an experienced Soul named Stryder, but who proves stronger than any of the creature's previous hosts. She ends up blending her own thoughts with that of the invader, and heads to live with a human resistance cell where Melanie's true love still lives.
Among the survivors are the likes of Uncle Jeb (William Hurt), and his sister, the stern Maggie (Fisher). The actress is joining a cast that also includes Diane Kruger and Jake Abel. Niccol has just kicked off filming in Louisiana and the movie is scheduled for release on March 29 next year.
Fisher, meanwhile, was last seen in The Lincoln Lawyer, and will next show up in **The Silent Thief **and Retribution.