Netflix is expanding its roster of high-profile upcoming projects by landing the rights to Rumaan Alam’s forthcoming novel Leave The World Behind with Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts reuniting after 1993’s The Pelican Brief, according to Deadline.
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The novel is set to hit shelves on October 6 and the official synopsis reads as follows:
Amanda and Clay head out to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a vacation: a quiet reprieve from life in New York City, quality time with their teenage son and daughter, and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they’ve rented for the week. But a late-night knock on the door breaks the spell. Ruth and G. H. are an older couple—it’s their house, and they’ve arrived in a panic. They bring the news that a sudden blackout has swept the city. But in this rural area—with the TV and internet now down, and no cell phone service—it’s hard to know what to believe.
Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple—and vice versa? What happened back in New York? Is the vacation home, isolated from civilization, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one other?
Pre-order your copy of the novel here!
In addition to landing Roberts and Washington to star as Amanda and G.H., Netflix has signed Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail to direct and adapt the novel, reuniting him with Roberts after the two worked closely together on the first season of Amazon’s Homecoming, in which Roberts starred and executive produced, while Esmail was co-creator and executive producer.
The rights to the novel came in a seven-figure deal with the streaming platform after a heated biding war amongst various streaming platforms and studios, with Netflix, Apple and MGM leading the pack of 10 other bids for film or limited series adaptations, with the former coming out victorious.
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The Oscar winners have reportedly been itching to work together again after the 1993 adaptation of the John Grisham legal thriller novel, in which, though it received mixed reviews from critics, the two received praise for their performances and chemistry on screen.
(Photo Credits: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic, Monica Schipper/WireImage and Karwai Tang/WireImage)
