According to Deadline, Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) and Laura Dern (Marriage Story) have signed on to star in the upcoming sci-fi drama film titled Morning, which will be set in the near-future about a world where there’s no end to living and work due to a pill that suppresses a person’s need to sleep. The award-winning actors will also be joined by A Quiet Place star Noah Jupe.
“Morning is a joyful, reflective, and defiant story about a reality not so far from our own where a preoccupation with productivity has destroyed our ability to connect, grieve and love,” producer Adam Ackland said in a statement. “We cannot wait to see this incredibly talented cast and creative team headed by Justin, Laura, and Noah bring Sam’s brilliantly original script to life.”
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Morning will be directed by Justin Kurzel (Nitram) from a screenplay written by Sam Steiner. Cumberbatch, who recently starred in the blockbuster hit Spider-Man: No Way Home and Jane Campion’s acclaimed drama The Power of the Dog, will also be serving as an executive producer along with Dern and Jayme Lemons for Jaywalker Pictures.
“The film is set in a near-future where society has a pill that does away with the need to sleep. With the added help of an artificial sun, there is no end to morning daylight, living and work. However, as a young generation grows up deprived of the world of sleep, they consider rebelling to reclaim their dreams,” reads the synopsis. “The ambitious and driven Cathy (Dern) was an early advocate of a sleepless world, but as she and her son Danny (Jupe) pick up the pieces of their lives following the death of her husband Frank (Cumberbatch), she finds the universe she helped to build is starting to crumble around her, whilst memories she fought so hard to repress are bleeding into her waking life. As Danny is further drawn into a subversive underworld of dreamers, Cathy must confront her nightmares and fight hard not to lose her son.”
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Morning will be produced by SunnyMarch’s Adam Ackland and Leah Clarke, with Marnie Podo set as an executive producer. HanWay is handling its international sales.
