Leave the World Behind: Ethan Hawke joins Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali in Netflix thriller

Ethan Hawke, who will be seen in the Marvel / Disney+ streaming series Moon Knight when it premieres on March 30th, has now signed on to join Julia Roberts (Homecoming) and Mahershala Ali (True Detective) in the cast of the Netflix thriller Leave the World Behind. Ryan Kiera Armstrong (The Tomorrow War), Charlie Evans (Everything’s Gonna Be Okay), and Myha’la Herrold (Industry) are also new additions to the cast.

Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail is writing and directing Leave the World Behind, which is based on a novel by Rumaan Alam. (You can pick up a copy of the novel at THIS LINK.) The story centers on

two families, strangers to each other, who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong.

Roberts and Hawke will be playing husband and wife, with Armstrong and Evans as their children. Herrold will be playing the daughter of Ali’s character.

At one point, Denzel Washington was attached to star in Leave the World Behind as well, but it looks like he had to leave the project.

Roberts is producing the film through her Red Om Films banner, with Esmail and Chad Hamilton producing through Esmail Corp. Red Om’s Lisa Gillan and Marisa Yeres Gill are also producers, with Alam executive producing.

For more information, we turn to the description of Alam’s novel:

From the bestselling author of Rich and Pretty comes a suspenseful and provocative novel keenly attuned to the complexities of parenthood, race, and class. Leave the World Behind explores how our closest bonds are reshaped—and unexpected new ones are forged—in moments of crisis.

Amanda and Clay head out to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a vacation: a quiet reprieve from life in New York City, quality time with their teenage son and daughter, and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they’ve rented for the week. But a late-night knock on the door breaks the spell. Ruth and G. H. are an older couple—it’s their house, and they’ve arrived in a panic. They bring the news that a sudden blackout has swept the city. But in this rural area—with the TV and internet now down, and no cell phone service—it’s hard to know what to believe.

Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple—and vice versa? What happened back in New York? Is the vacation home, isolated from civilization, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one other? 

I haven’t read the novel, but the story sounds like it could be interesting and Esmail is assembling a great cast for the cinematic adaptation.