Rachel Brosnahan, the Emmy-winning star ofThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, is set to joinAnthony Ramosin Amblin’s sci-fi comedyDistant, the studio announced Wednesday.
Will SpeckandJosh Gordon, the duo behindBlades of GloryandOffice Christmas Party, will direct from a script bySpenser Cohen(Extinction).Brian Kavanaugh-Jones,Fred BergerandAnna Halbergwill produce, whileJonathan RothbartandMatt Hirschwill executive produce with Speck and Gordon.Kevin Vafiwill serve as a co-producer on the project, which will be overseen by Amblin executivesJeb BrodyandJohn Buderwitz. Production is slated to start next month.
Distantfollows an asteroid miner who crash-lands on an alien planet and must contend with the challenges of his new surroundings while making his way across the harsh terrain to the only other survivor – a woman who is trapped in her escape pod.
That’s an intriguing premise, and I like both these actors, but I’ll be curious to see if they have any chemistry together. I’m not even alluding to romantic chemistry, because I don’t know if these two survivors hook up together or what, as I haven’t read the script. But they will have to have some comedic chemistry together, so that’s the big question for me here.
Still, Brosnahan is an impressive get for Amblin on this project, seeing as she has won two of the past three Golden Globe awards for Best Actress in a TV Comedy. And Ramos is about to pop himself, having turned supporting roles inHamiltonandA Star Is Borninto the lead role in the feature adaptation ofIn the Heights, which is expected to be a major awards contender this fall.
Brosnahan will soon be seen inJulia HartandJordan Horowitz’s new dramaI’m Your Woman, about a mother who’s forced to go on the run with her child due to her husband’s crimes. She also stars oppositeBenedict Cumberbatchin the spy movieIronbark, which was very well received by Sundance audiences last month. She’s represented by CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners, andDeadlinebroke the news of her casting inDistant.
Amblin’s 2020 slate includes theTom McCarthydramaStillwaterstarringMatt Damon, the horror movieLarrystarringGillian Jacobs, and theSigourney Weaver-Kevin KlinedramedyThe Good House. The company is also developing an interactive haunted house movie with horror directorsAlexandre Aja(Crawl) andMike Flanagan(Doctor Sleep). For more on that ambitious untitled project,click here.
