Netflix continues to crack open its wallet and throw money around to snag big names and film packages that have been the target of bidding wars. The company's latest trophy is Leave The World Behind, which will star Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington.
Sam Esmail, the creator of Mr. Robot, who also worked with Roberts on podcast adaptation Homecoming, is on board to produce, write and direct the film, which will be based on Rumaan Alam's upcoming novel.
The story follows a couple called Amanda and Clay, whose aspirational vacation with their teenage children is interrupted by the arrival of a middle aged couple who own the holiday home and who have fled an unprecedented blackout in the city. When the internet, television and radio stop working, as does the landline, they have no way of finding out what is happening. As strange sonic booms shatter the peace of the countryside, and animals start to migrate in strange ways, the physical and mental health of the families begins to disintegrate. The renters are upscale and White; the owners are upscale and Black. The issues of race and clash become distractions to the more alarming things are happening all around them.
Roberts will play Amanda, while Washington is the owner of the rental property. It'll make another reunion – the actors have been looking to work together again ever since 1993's The Pelican Brief. Quite when it will shoot is anyone's guess at this point, but you know Netflix will want to get moving as soon as feasible.