Jennifer Connelly is set to star in the Apple TV Plus series based on Blake Crouch's 2016 sci-fi thriller novel Dark Matter. A widely acclaimed actress on both the large and small screen, Connelly joins a cast that includes Joel Edgerton in the lead role.
Greatly anticipated by fans of the book, the 9-episode series was ordered by Apple TV Plus in March. Dark Matter will be adapted for television by Crouch himself, who has previously adapted his work for the small screen, including the recent Fox drama Wayward Pines and the TNT series Good Behavior.
The Dark Matter novel has been hailed as one of the best sci-fi thrillers of the decade. The series stars Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Edgerton in the lead role as Jason Dessen, a physicist and professor abducted into a series of alternate realities that, while initially wondrous, quickly turn nightmarish. Set in Chicago, the multiverse series explores Dessen's struggles to return to his original life and family, a journey that is endangered by a villainous alternate version of himself. Connelly stars as Dessen's wife, Daniela. Produced by Sony Pictures, the Dark Matter series is set to start filming in Chicago in October 2022, with Matt Tolmach and David Manpearl of Matt Tolmach Productions executive producing. The first three episodes are set to be directed by Jakob Verbruggen (of The Alienist).
Connelly is not new to television, having recently starred in TNT's Snowpiercer series, currently set to end with its 4th season. The actress is known largely for her roles in film and for winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in 1999s A Beautiful Mind. She also had critically acclaimed roles in Requiem for a Dream (2000) and House of Sand and Fog (2003). She was most recently seen in the blockbuster hit Top Gun: Maverick (2022) over the summer.
Connelly is also known for her roles in sci-fi and horror, including one of her first appearances at age 15 in 1985’s Phenomena directed by Dario Argento. Other roles include Dark Water (2005), based on an earlier Japanese horror film, and a 2008 adaptation of The Day the Earth Stood Still opposite Keanu Reeves. Many know her as the star of the childhood fantasy favorite Labyrinth (1986) opposite David Bowie.
Given her wide variety of previous roles in both drama and similar genre work, Connelly will no doubt bring skillful acting to Dark Matter. She is known as an actress equally capable of projecting power and vulnerability with skill.
Dark Matter will be released on Apple TV Plus.
Source: Apple TV Plus