For the disaster thriller “Leave the World Behind”, Netflix was able to attract a star cast including Oscar winners Julia Roberts (55, “Erin Brockovich”) and Mahershala Ali (49, “Moonlight”). The streaming service released the first trailer for the end-time drama online. Roberts and Ethan Hawke (52, “Before Midnight”) play a married couple who spend a weekend in a secluded holiday home with their children. Suddenly at night the alleged owner (Ali) and his daughter appear at the door, having fled the city from a mysterious threat.
As the world plunges more and more into chaos, the strangers fight together for survival. Cyber attacks, a crashed plane and a mysterious red cloud are briefly touched upon in the trailer. But the real tension comes from how those affected react to the danger.
The film is based on the novel of the same name (German title “In the Middle of the Night”) by Rumaan Alam. Sam Esmail, who became known for the thriller series “Mr. Robot”, took over the script and direction. Michelle and Barack Obama are on board as executive producers with their production company Higher Ground. Netflix announced the film for early December.
