Emma Watson to star opposite Tom Hanks in digital age thriller The Circle

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Tom Hanks has found his female lead in the adaptation of author Dave Egger’s THE CIRCLE. The techno thriller has been in development for some time with Hanks producing the film for writer/director Scott Ponsoldt (THE SPECTACULAR NOW). Watson replaces Alicia Vikander who was set to play the lead but dropped out to star opposite Matt Damon in BOURNE 5.

Tom Hanks is also starring in the Dave Egger’s adaptation A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING for director Tom Tykwer. Eggers is known in literary circles for his books “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” and starting the publishing company McSweeney’s. He has also worked as a screenwriter on Spike Jonze‘s WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE.

Here’s the plot for THE CIRCLE.

Watson will play a young woman who’s hired for a big job in an Internet monopoly called the Circle, which links users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency. It’s there that she meets a mysterious older man, who will be played by two-time Oscar winner Hanks.

THE CIRCLE is scheduled to begin production as soon as Emma Watson wraps Bill Condon‘s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Watson has turned in quite the resume after concluding the Harry Potter franchise with roles in THE BLING RING and NOAH. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST should drive her star status through the roof which will make THE CIRCLE all the more viable for producers.

There is no set release date for THE CIRCLE, but expect the rest of the cast to round out soon with production looking likely for late 2016/early 2017.