Natalie Portman made headlines this weekend for her comment about the lack of director diversity at the Golden Globes, and now she's aiming to step in for another actor who was highlighting issues at the ceremony: Reese Witherspoon. Portman's in talks to inherit the lead role in astronaut drama Pale Blue Dot.
Legion creator Noah Hawley is aboard to direct the film, which follows what happens when a married astronaut returns from space and kicks off an affair with one of her colleagues. Affected by the experience of spending a long time in space and seeing the Earth from a distance, she falls into a downward spiral, a situation only made worse when her lover strikes up his own affair with a trainee. The story has its grounding in a real-life story, that of former NASA officer Lisa Marie Nowak, who was arrested for attempting to kidnap a romantic rival in 2007.
Witherspoon was attached to star in and produce the film in 2015, but her commitments to the new season of Big Little Lies meant she decided to back out of the lead role in November, while staying aboard as producer.
Fox Searchlight is behind the movie, and, assuming Portman signs on, will star looking for the rest of the cast with the aim of the cameras rolling this year. As for the actress, she'll be back on our screens in Annihilation, out on 23 February.
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