According to Variety, Jake Gyllenhaal has set his sights on his next project, and it’s none other than Skydance’s sci-fi film Life, which is penned by Deadpool co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. Gyllenhaal will co-star in the film alongside Ryan Reynolds, who will be reuniting with the Deadpool writing duo, and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation standout Rebecca Ferguson. Daniel Espinosa (Child 44) will direct the film.
Gyllenhaal has turned in some of the most impressive performances of the past few years, in films ranging from Prisoners to Enemy to Nightcrawler, and has proven himself to be one of Hollywood’s most reliable actors. Currently, Gyllenhaal has a slew of other projects on his slate and is attached to star in Nocturnal Animals, The Current War, Stronger and Okja. Additionally, he is sure to attract a decent amount of awards attention for his turn in this year’s Demolition.
The site reports that the plot of the Life “follows the crew of the International Space Station, who, after retrieving a sample from Mars, discover that it displays signs of life, and proves to be more intelligent than expected.”
Unlike Reese and Wernick’s action comedy script work in the past, judging from the description alone, Life sounds like a thriller set in space. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how the two’s writing style translates to a more serious project. Of course, it’s hard to believe they won’t sprinkle at least a bit of their signature humour in there too.
Matching the success of Deadpool with Life will certainly be no easy feat, considering how February’s Merc with a Mouth solo film has made close to $700 million on a $58 million budget and is still going strong in theaters.
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Originally published March 11, 2016. Updated April 14, 2018.
