Ex Machina writer/director Alex Garland already has Natalie Portman making a deal to star in his next sci-fi film. And now it appears rising star Gina Rodriguez may join Portman in Annihilation.
The adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s sci-fi novel has been in development since 2013, when producer Scott Rudin bought the rights and set the project up at Paramount, with Garland jumping aboard a year ago and Portman starting to circle the lead in May.
VanderMeer’s book chronicles an expedition into a mysterious, remote and sealed-off zone known as Area X. For 30 years, Area X has been labelled by the government as an environmental disaster zone, despite all appearances to the contrary. And for all that time, a secret agency called the Southern Reach has monitored Area X and sent in expeditions to try to discover the truth. Some expeditions have suffered terrible consequences. Others have reported nothing out of the ordinary. Now, as it to be changing and perhaps expanding, the next investigation will attempt to succeed where all others have failed. What is happening in the zone? What is the true nature of the invisible border that surrounds it? Portman will be a biologist looking for answers to her husband’s disappearance as part of an earlier expedition. She and her colleagues soon discover that all is definitely not what it seems and that they’re being manipulated....
Rodriguez’ role isn’t elaborated on in The Wrap’s report, but it also mentions that Hilary Swank and Frances McDormand are also in contention for a part in the film. It’s just the latest potential plum job for Rodriguez, who has made a splash in US TV comedy drama Jane The Virgin, been rumoured for Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: Episode VIII and will be seen alongside Mark Wahlberg in oil rig drama Deepwater Horizon, which should be out later next year.