Jessica Chastain is heading into deep space with Christopher Nolan.
The 2013 Oscar nominee is in talks for a plum role in the “Dark Knight” director’s “Interstellar,” a secretive sci-fi film inspired by the theoretical phenomenon known as wormholes that will center on a voyage to the far reaches of space. Chastain is being tapped for the third lead, joining Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway in the ambitious project which has been set as Nolan’s next directorial effort.
Nolan signed on to “Interstellar” in January, replacing original director Steven Spielberg and thereby setting up yet another collaboration with brother Jonathan Nolan, who had written an earlier draft of the script before Spielberg departed the project. According to Deadline, which broke the news of Chastain’s casting, the two brothers then reportedly took elements of Jonathan’s screenplay and merged them with an original idea of Christopher’s to come up with the current iteration of the story.
Chastain was nominated for Best Actress at this year’s Oscars for her performance in Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty.” Last month she signed on for Guillermo del Toro’s “Crimson Peak” opposite Emma Stone and Benedict Cumberbatch; other upcoming projects include the two-part Ned Benson drama “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby” opposite James McAvoy and Viola Davis and Liv Ullmann’s “Miss Julie” co-starring Colin Farrell and Samantha Morton.
“Interstellar” is slated for release on November 7, 2014.