This is the twelfth expedition.
Their group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain and collect specimens; to record all their observations, scientific and otherwise, of their surroundings and of one another; and, above all, to avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.
They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers—they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life forms that surpass understanding—but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them, and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another, that change everything.
Four female scientists! I am so in. Unfortunately, movies with that many women as main characters don’t come around that often, and the fact that it’s going to be a group of women that’s racially diverse, well educated in scientific fields, and in charge of an important mission is killer. The actresses playing the scientists are Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, and Tessa Thompson. Oscar Isaac- who you will know from being everywhere recently, as well as being the latest guy that Tumblr is way too obsessed with- will play the husband of Natalie Portman’s character, who died after being a member of on of the previous expeditions.
Alex Garland knows how to cast the hell out of movie. He obviously enjoyed working with Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina enough to put him in this project as well, but let’s hope his character this time around is a little less terrifyingly insane. Also interesting to note is that Garland not only does science fiction extremely well, but seems to be interested in telling stories about women. Ex Machina had a lot to say about gender roles, and almost all of the characters in Annihilation are female. It will be a while before this movie comes out, the cast list is just being released now. Shooting hasn’t even started yet, but it’s definitely going to be a project to keep your eye on. There’s also plenty of time to read the book first, if that’s your thing. Dare we hope for another Oscar Isaac dancing scene that’s funny but also deeply unsettling?! I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
