Netflix and their giant dump-trucks full of money win again. Per Deadline, the streaming giant has come out on top of yet another vigorous bidding war for LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND, a project which will be written and directed by Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot) and star Julia Roberts (Homecoming) and Denzel Washington (THE EQUALIZER).
According to Deadline, there were close to a dozen offers from various studios and streaming services for the project, but in the end, it came down to Netflix, Apple, and MGM, with Netflix obviously walking away the winner. LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND will be based on an upcoming novel by Rumaan Alam which deals with a family enjoying a stay at a vacation home who are interrupted by the home's owners, who have fled the city after a mysterious blackout. "When the internet, television and radio stop working, as does the landline, they have no way of finding out what is happening," reads Deadline's description. "As strange sonic booms shatter the peace of the countryside, and animals start to migrate in strange ways, the physical and mental health of the families begins to disintegrate. The renters are upscale and White; the owners are upscale and Black. The issues of race and clash become distractions to the more alarming things are happening all around them." Julia Roberts is slated to play the mother of the family who rents the house, while Denzel Washington will play the homeowner.
The last time Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington worked together was in THE PELICAN BRIEF back in 1993, but the pair have been anxious to reunite, and as Roberts worked closely with Sam Esmail on the first season of the Amazon series Homecoming, she sent the project Washington's way. Roberts, Washington, and Esmail will also serve as producers on LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND.