Ethan Hawke and Myha’la Herrold have joined the cast ofLeave the World Behind, an original Netflix thriller fromMr. Robotcreator Sam Esmail. The pair is the newest addition to the film’s star cast, which is headlined by Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali.Leave the World Behindis based on Rumaan Alam’s 2020 novel of the same name.
As perDeadline, “Leave the World Behind is a story about two families, strangers to each other, who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong.” Like the novel,Leave the World Behindis described as suspenseful and provocative, dealing with themes of parenthood, race and class. In the film,Ethan Hawkeand Julia Roberts will play a couple who drive out to a remote cabin with their children (played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong and Charlie Evans).Mahershala Aliwill play the owner of the cabin, who, along with his wife, shows up at night in a panic and brings the news of a massive blackout. Myha’la Herrold, best known for her role as Harper Stern in HBO’sIndustry, will play Mahershala Ali’s daughter.
Leave the World Behindwas one of the best-reviewed books of 2020 and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. It even ended up on Barack Obama’s summer favorites list. It came as no surprise when a film adaptation of the acclaimed novel was greenlit by Netflix months before its release, withDenzel Washington in talks to star. But he soon dropped out. Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot, Homecoming) will direct and adaptLeave the World Behindfor the screen. Esmail and Julia Roberts also serve as producers through their respective banners, Esmail Corp. and Red Om Films.
Ethan Hawke Will Next Be Seen In Marvel’s Moon Knight
Ethan Hawke and his distinctive lookhave been making the rounds lately on social media. Earlier today, Disney released the official trailer forMoon Knight, starring Oscar Isaac as the titular superhero. The trailer also provides a glimpse of Hawke’s hotly-anticipated villain. TheGattacastar is playing a cult leader named Arthur Harrow, which many fans believe is an alias for Moon Knight’s well-known villain, Sun King.
Interestingly, Moon Knight has also collaborated with Blade in the comics, and none other thanMahershala Ali is set to play the iconic vampire hunterin the MCU. After facing off inLeave the World Behind, maybe we’ll see Hawke and Ali together in the MCU as well. That said, 2022 seems to be the year of Ethan Hawke. He is set to be a part of many long-awaited films, like Robert Egger’sThe Northman, Scott Derrickson’sThe Black Phone,and possibly Rian Johnson’sKnives Out 2, which doesn’t have a release date yet.
Judging by director Sam Esmail and the leading actors’ several high-profile commitments and the fast-tracked casting, we can assume thatLeave the World Behindis set to begin production soon. Netflix doled out serious money for the rights to the novel, but the film has been in limbo since 2020. Hopefully, now that most of the main cast has been announced,Leave the World Behindmoves forward quickly.
