WhileFargoandLegioncreatorNoah Hawley’s feature debutPale Blue Dotsuffered a setback last year whenReese Witherspoonvacated the lead role, a switcheroo is underway to keep this thing on track.Varietyreports that Oscar-winnerNatalie Portmanis now in talks to take over the part, which is that of a successful female astronaut who starts to unravel when faced with everyday life after she returns from a mission in space.
That’s a plum part to be sure, as the movie aims to explore the theory that astronauts can lose their sense of reality when returning to Earth after spending long amounts of time in space. Hawley is directing from a script byBrian C BrownandElliott DiGuiseppi.
Witherspoon didn’t depart the Fox Searchlight project over creative differences, but instead was looking to clear her schedule to make way for a potential second season ofBig Little Lies, which is now official. Portman, meanwhile, next leads the sci-fi horror thrillerAnnihilation, from writer/directorAlex Garland, so it appears she’s keen on further exploring this kind of heady sci-fi territory.
After breaking out as the showrunner of FX’sFargoand then creating a different but similarly interesting series withLegion, Hawley had originally intended to make his feature debut with another Fox Searchlight picture,Buried Bodies, butPale Blue Dotgained momentum when Witherspoon signed on. With Portman now eyeing the lead role it sounds like this movie is definitely happening.
When, exactly,Pale Blue Dotwill shoot is unclear. Hawley is currently in the midst of shootingLegionSeason 2 and FX recently announced a new season ofFargo, once again spearheaded by Hawley,to debut in 2019. SinceFargoshoots in the winter that gives Hawley a pretty big hiatus this summer during which he could feasibly shoot this sci-fi feature. He’s also developing aDoctor Doommovie at Fox, butthat one’s future is a bit unclearin the wake of the Disney-Fox deal, and it sounds likePale Blue Dotis further along.
Whatever the case, this certainly sounds like an exciting project, and Portman’s a great actress so it should be fun to see what she does with the role. And given Fox Searchlight’s track record, it’s not hard to believe this could possibly be an awards contender once it finally hits theaters.
