Laura Dern, Benedict Cumberbatch, And Naomi Ackie Are Starring In Justin Kurzel's Sci-Fi Movie Morning

Laura Dern and science-fiction have often made for great bedfellows in the past, as evidenced by "Jurassic Park" and "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." For her return to the genre, Dern is teaming up with "The Snowtown Murders" and "Macbeth" (2015) director Justin Kurzel for another intriguing project, this time in the form of an original film titled "Morning." Now, mind you, Kurzel's previous excursion into sci-fi with the 2016 "Assassin's Creed" movie didn't work out so well. Then again, you know what they say: If at first you don't succeed, try casting Laura F**king Dern instead and see what happens.

Dern is far from the only exciting cast member for "Morning," of course. According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" veteran Naomi Ackie has also joined the film's ensemble on the heels of her performance as Whitney Houston in the musician biopic, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" (for which Ackie herself earned top marks; the rest of the movie less so). With production slated to begin in Germany at some point in 2023, this feels like a good time to recount everything else we know about Kurzel's latest sci-fi offering at this stage. 

"Morning" is described as being "set in a near future where society has a pill that does away with the need to sleep [and] the added help of an artificial sun means there is finally no end to morning daylight, living, and work." It's a premise that somewhat recalls that of "Sleep No More," the 2015, found-footage horror-flavored, "Doctor Who" episode about workers on a space station who need only spend a few minutes in a high-tech pod to get a month's worth of sleep. (The episode was penned by queer horror aficionado Mark Gatiss, natch.) The whole thing made for a creepily effective anti-capitalism parable — as "New Who" has often been wont to make — and it sounds as though "Morning" has an equally radical message beneath its mind-bending exterior.

Laura Dern will star in the film as Cathy, "an ambitious, driven early advocate of a sleepless world" who attempts to mend her relationship with her estranged son, Danny, even with the anniversary of her husband Frank's death bearing down on the pair of them. However, thanks to the arrival of "someone from Frank's past" (Naomi Ackie, seen above in "I Wanna Dance with Somebody"), Danny is "drawn away from his mother into a subversive underworld of dreamers." As other members of Danny's generation begin rebelling in the hopes of reclaiming their dreams (quite literally), Cathy is forced to confront "the nightmares that have begun to bleed into her waking life."

Among those joining Laura Dern and Naomi Ackie in the "Morning" cast are Benedict Cumberbatch (above) as Frank and "A Quiet Place" alum Noah Jupe as Danny. Justin Kurzel will direct the movie from a script by Sam Steiner (a relatively lesser-known scribe for the time being), with Dern and Cumberbatch listed among the many executive producers. The film will also reunite Kurzel with many of his trusted collaborators behind the camera, including his "The Snowtown Murders," "Macbeth," and "Assassin's Creed" director of photography Adam Arkapaw and his "The Snowtown Murders" and "True History of the Kelly Gang" costume designer Alice Babidge.

With "human connection, productivity, and the power of dreams and memories to inspire change" forming the film's thematic core, "Morning" ought to make for a fitting addition to Kurzel's larger oeuvre as a director. The subject of how those with power wield it has popped up again and again in his historical dramas, but there also seems to be a fair deal of overlap with "Assassin's Creed" and that video game movie's examination of traumatic memories and the way they shape our sense of not just ourselves but the world around us (which was perhaps its most compelling element). Between all that and the story's inherent anti-capitalist undertones, "Morning" may yet prove to be a rewarding return to sci-fi for all concerned parties.