We already know that Ewan Mcgregor, Mark Strong and Sam Heughan are aboard Doug Liman's planned adventure film about the exploits of Everest mountaineer George Mallory. Now comes word that Juno Temple, who is currently still charming up TV screens in Ted Lasso, will join them.
Up In The Air's Sheldon Turner wrote the script for the new film, which will chronicle how Mallory (McGregor) is picked by the Royal Geographic Society's Arthur Hinks (Strong) to restore British pride by scaling the impossible. But as Mallory and his eccentric Australian rival George Finch (Heughan) will discover, it's a real test of self.
Climbing without oxygen, to heights not even planes can reach, Mallory‘s successive attempts to make the summit sees a challenge become an all-consuming obsession. It leads Mallory to abandon his beloved wife and three children for months on end, give up his job, and push his body to the limits of human endurance. Everest becomes a very real monster for Mallory, his 45 degree climb to the peak is an inhuman mix of vertigo and nerve-shredding tension, requiring all of his fearlessness and audacity. It takes everything from him for reasons he can barely articulate: because it’s grander than him, it’s the last empty part of the map, and as he simply puts it — "because it’s there."
Temple will play Mallory's wife Ruth, who was left behind to handle their life while he's putting his in danger. We're hoping it won't just be a somewhat thankless "worried spouse" role.
Sky has nabbed the UK rights for the film, which will start shooting this coming January in the UK and Italy.