Oscar Winner Mahershala Ali to Star in Sci-Fi Film ‘Sovereign’

2019 is already shaping up to be a great year for Mahershala Ali. On Sunday, the actor took home his second Academy Award around the same time the finale of his season of True Detective aired. It looks like the actor has plenty more coming up, including the new sci-fi film Sovereign.

According to Variety, Ali will be starring in the new movie, which is being produced by Entertainment One and 21 Laps Entertainment’s Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, and Dan Cohen. The three men were recently credited for producing Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival and Netflix’s Stranger Things.

The movie will be directed by Marc Munden, who has helmed episodes of Electric Dreams, Quantico, and Black Sails. The movie is being written by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods who are credited for co-writing John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place. The writers will be revamping the Sovereign script which was originally being tackled by Greg Weidman and Geoff Tock who both wrote for the Limitless TV series.

Nick Meyer, Entertainment One’s president of film, recently released a statement about Sovereign:

“We have long loved this project and have been patiently waiting until we found the right leading actor, which we no doubt have found in the incredibly talented Mahershala Ali,” he said. “The cast is clearly shaping up well and is backed by a creative team with a proven track record and the ability to tell a story that will resonate with audiences around the world.”

According to IMDB the plot description, the film is a sci-fi/thriller that is set to follow a man who “seeks revenge against a space ship that killed his wife.” The only actor currently listed on the website is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but considering Variety did not mention the actor in their article, it’s unclear if he is still attached.

Ali’s Oscar win for Green Book this week marks the actor’s second in two years. He also won Best Supporting Actor for Moonlight in 2017. Currently, you can catch him in theaters playing Vector in Robert Rodriguez’s Alita: Battle Angel. In addition to Sovereign, he also has the upcoming crime/thriller film, Burn, in the works.

Sovereign does not currently have a release date.

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