Jake Gyllenhaal Leading ‘Life’ With Ryan Reynolds And Rebecca Ferguson
Mars is attracting white-hot stars.Rebecca Fergusonwas the first to sign onforDaniel Espinosa’s sci-fi thrillerLife, hot on the heels of her breakout role inMission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, andRyan Reynolds’casting was revealedjust days afterDeadpool’s record-breaking opening weekend. Now it’s suckedJake Gyllenhaalinto its orbit as well. Whatever else this movie has going for or against it, that cast alone makesLifeworth a look.
THRreports that Gyllenhaal isn’t just joining Reynolds in the movie, he’s actually replacing him. With Reynolds busy shooting the action-thrillerHitman’s Bodyguard, Gyllenhaal will take on the role once earmarked for Reynolds, while Reynolds moves into a smaller supporting role. Still, we should see plenty of both asLifeis described as an ensemble piece.
Written byPaul WernickandRhett Reese(Deadpool),Lifeis a large-scale sci-fi project about a crew aboard the International Space Station. They retrieve a sample from Mars and discover signs of life, but the trouble begins when it proves far more intelligent — and more dangerous — than expected.Lifeis being put together by Skydance Media, and it’s likely (though not confirmed) that it’ll eventually find a home at Paramount.
Gyllenhaal’s been acting for a long time, but it’s in the past few years that he’s really emerged as one of the most interesting actors of his generation. For my money, his unsettling performance in 2014’sNightcrawlerwas a career-best. Gyllenhaal’s also demonstrated pretty solid taste in projects, so ifLifehas caught his eye (not to mention Ferguson’s and Reynolds' and Espinosa’s and Skydance’s), it could be something special.
Gyllenhaal will next be seen in Jean-Marc Vallée’sDemolitionand Tom Ford’sNocturnal Animals. Also coming up for him are David Gordon Green’s Boston Marathon bombing dramaStronger(not to be confused with Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg’s Boston Marathon bombing dramaPatriots Day) and Joon-ho Bong’s Netflix monster movieOkja.
