Alex Garland is set to reunite with A24 for his latest film, titled “Men.” Jessie Buckley is in talks to star in the film, playing a woman who goes on a solo vacation to the English countryside after the death of her ex-husband. Rory Kinnear has also been tapped to join the project, which is penned and directed by Garland.
A24 is on board to finance and distribute the new project, reuniting with the filmmaker after the British novelist and screenwriter notably made his directorial debut at the studio with 2014’s “Ex Machina.” The sci-fi stunner, starring Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander and Oscar Issac, earned Garland an Oscar nomination for original screenplay, on top of a respectable $36.9 million at the box office.
“Men” is Garland’s first feature after 2018’s “Annihilation” and follows his FX mini-series “Devs,” which wrapped up its run in April. Garland’s other works include “The Beach” (writing the novel, adapted for the 2000 Leonardo DiCaprio-starring film), “Dredd,” “Never Let Me Go” and “28 Days Later.”
Scott Rudin — who produced “Ex Machina,” “Annihlation” and “Devs” alongside Garland — returns to produce the new film, with Eli Bush and DNA’s Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich.
Buckley’s star has been on the rise in recent years, with critically acclaimed performances in “Chernobyl,” “Wild Rose” and “Fargo.” The Irish star is a Gotham Awards nominee for her latest work in Charlie Kaufman’s Netflix film “I’m Thinking of Ending Things.” Kinnear is set to reprise his role as Bill Tanner in the latest James Bond outing “No Time to Die” and was most recently seen in “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels.”
Garland is repped by WME. Buckley is repped by CAA, Range Media Partners and United Agents. Kinnear is repped by Markham, Froggart and Irwin.
Deadline first reported news of the project.