5 Aug – Alex Garland's next movie is set to annihilate all competitors at the cinemas in February next year. "Annihilation" has been given the release date of 23 February 2018 by Paramount Pictures, according to the Verge. The movie will star Natalie Portman as a biologist whose husband suddenly returned home after a year of absence in a mysterious zone called Area X. She then joins an expedition into the environmental disaster zone and there, she discovers the unexpected. Portman is joined by Oscar Isaac as her character's husband, Jennifer Jason Leigh ("The Hateful Eight") as the Psychologist, Gina Rodriguez ("Jane the Virgin") as the Anthropologist, and Tessa Thompson ("Creed") as the Surveyor.
This will be Garland's second time working with Isaac, whom he previously directed in his directorial debut, "Ex Machina". Garland's sophomore directorial effort is an adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer's novel of the same name, which nabbed the 2014 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 2014 Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel. The 47-year-old English writer-turned-director will also be the one penning the script so fans can be assured that it will be in good hands, since Garland is renowned for his 2000 novel "The Beach" and screenwriting work on "28 Days Later", "Sunshine", "Dredd", "Never Let Me Go" and "Ex Machina". While it is not known whether Garland will also adapt the follow-up novels "Authority" and "Acceptance", "Annihilate's" performance at the box office just might open up a new franchise for the director. (Photo source: mattmulcahey.wordpress.com)