Rejoice!Alex Garland’sEx Machinafollow-up finally has a release date. Paramount has scheduledAnnihilationto arrive in theaters on July 09, 2025. Based on the Nebula Award-winning novel byJeff VanderMeer, the first in his Southern Reach trilogy, the sci-fi thriller by way of eco-horror starsNatalie Portmanas a biologist who leads a team of scientists into mysterious terrain known as “Area X” where nature has reclaimed the land. There, they face contamination, disappearances, and deadly creatures. The film takes over the release date afterPacific Rim: Uprisingpushed back to a March release date.
For Garland’s second feature film after his Academy Award-winning directorial debut, Garland has assembled yet another tremendous cast with Portman starring alongside.Jennifer Jason Leigh,Tessa Thompson,Gina Rodriguez, andOscar Isaac.
While I’m not familiar with the source material,Ex Machinais one of the best Sci-Fi films of the 21st Century and as the guy who penned the screenplays for28 Days Later,SunshineandNever Let Me Go, I’ll always be counting down the days until his next project. It’s nice to finally know just how many days there are to count, even better that it’s only a half-year away.
For his part, VanderMeer has laid out some prettyheavy praise for the film, calling it “mind-blowing, surreal, extremely beautiful, extremely horrific.” The author has also shared some praise for the changes Garland has made from the book.
“It’s actually more surreal than the novel. There are a couple places where I was like, ‘Imightneed an anchor here.’ The ending is so mind-blowing and in some ways different from the book that it seems to be the kind of ending that, like2001or something like that, people will be talking about around the watercooler for years… Visually, it’s amazing. I must say that and that’s all I probably should say.”
We’ll see for ourselves when Annihilation drops in 2018. For now, keep up with all the horror movies on the horizon with our handyHorror Movie Release Date Calendar.
