James Pondsoldt typically gathers an exceptional bunch of actors for his movies. His latest, The Circle, not only follows suit but continues to fill up nicely. Emma Watson, Tom Hanks and John Boyega already lined up their roles, and now Karen Gillan enters the sci-fi film's sphere.
The actress, best known for her turns in Doctor Who, Guardians of the Galaxy and last year's short-lived ABC series Selfie, joins the Dave Eggers's adaptation as Annie, a "warm, cute, goofy, old-money confident and fiercely intelligent member of The Circle," Deadline reports. Sounds about right.
Gillan is part of the machine, it seems, as it centers on Mae Holland (Watson), a young, ambitious woman hired to work for the world's most powerful internet company (basically Google meets Amazon), which links users' personal emails, social media and more with a universal operating system. From there, she grows closer to the company's mysterious CEO (Hanks), but finds her personal life more compromised than she anticipated and her work relationship more fragile than she initially believed.
Watson came on in June after replacing Alicia Vikander, who was linked to the lead the month prior. Hanks, also attached as a producer, was involved for some time before, while Boyega — set to play Ty, the company's "boy-wonder visionary" — entered last month. Production begins later this fall. Pondsolt also wrote the adapted screenplay for the film, and produces alongside Hanks and Gary Goetzman of Playtone and Anthony Bregman from Likely Story.
The new role in Ponsoldt's follow-up to this summer's The End of the Tour shines bright on Gillan's acting acceleration. She recently filmed roles in Adam McKay's financial crisis drama The Big Short, Ti West's Western In the Valley of Violence and the romantic comedy The List, and was recently cast in an HBO pilot, the period drama The Devil You Know. She'll soon reunite with the Marvel Cinematic Universe to film her role in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
Image courtesy of Peter West/ACE/INFphoto.com