EX MACHINA Star Alicia Vikander Joins Tom Hanks in Tech Thriller THE CIRCLE
If you're a big movie fan and you aren't familiar with actress Alicia Vikander, I suspect that will change very soon. She was the breakout star of Ex Machina, she has a period romance called Testament of Youth on the way, and she'll appear in Guy Ritchie's The Man From U.N.C.L.E. later this year. And that's only about half of her cinematic output — for 2015 alone. She's having a Jessica Chastain moment, and in about a year or two, Vikander's career could be on a similar trajectory.
If all goes well, she'll be getting another boost in popularity by starring opposite one of America's favorite actors in a new thriller. THR reports that Vikander has joined the cast of The Circle, a tech suspense story starring Tom Hanks that's based on Dave Eggers' 2013 novel of the same name. She'll play the lead role under the watchful eye of director James Ponsoldt, who helmed the indie hits Smashed and The Spectacular Now. Here's a detailed synopsis:
When Mae Holland is hired to work for the Circle, the world’s most powerful internet company, she feels she’s been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The Circle, run out of a sprawling California campus, links users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency. As Mae tours the open-plan office spaces, the towering glass dining facilities, the cozy dorms for those who spend nights at work, she is thrilled with the company’s modernity and activity. There are parties that last through the night, there are famous musicians playing on the lawn, there are athletic activities and clubs and brunches, and even an aquarium of rare fish retrieved from the Marianas Trench by the CEO. Mae can’t believe her luck, her great fortune to work for the most influential company in the world — even as life beyond the campus grows distant, even as a strange encounter with a colleague leaves her shaken, even as her role at the Circle becomes increasingly public. What begins as the captivating story of one woman’s ambition and idealism soon becomes a heart-racing novel of suspense, raising questions about memory, history, privacy, democracy, and the limits of human knowledge.
Vikander facing off against an evil Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg figure played by the lovable Tom Hanks? Sounds awesome to me. There's no planned start date for production yet, but we'll keep you posted when we hear more.