Parallel: Danielle Deadwyler to star in sci-fi thriller with Aldis, Edwin Hodge

Danielle Deadwyler (The Devil to Pay) had been cast to star in the HBO sci-fi drama series Demimonde, from executive producer J.J. Abrams… but then the project ran into budgetary issues and HBO had to scrap it. So now Deadwyler is moving on to a different sci-fi project, the thriller Parallel. Deadline reports that Deadwyler will be joined in the cast of Parallel by brothers Aldis Hodge (The Invisible Man) and Edwin Hodge (The Tomorrow War).

Kourosh Ahari, who previously directed the 2016 drama The Yellow Wallpaper and the 2020 horror film The Night, will be directing Parallel from a screenplay the Hodge brothers wrote with Jonathan Keasey. This will be the first writing credit for both of the Hodges, but Keasey was previously credited on the 2020 TV series Give Me Shelter.

Parallel is a remake of a 2019 Chinese film called Parallel Forest, which was written and directed by Lei Zheng. This take on the concept will follow

the journey of Vanessa (Deadwyler), a grief-stricken woman who mysteriously finds herself navigating between parallel spaces. While on a retreat with her husband and brother-in-law, and after suffering the loss of a child, she is faced with the threat of self destruction in order to regain the life she knew before her loss. These parallel gates may hold the key to releasing her grief or trapping her forever.

The Hodge brothers are producing Parallel through their production company, which is appropriately called Hodge Brothers Productions. Keasey is also a producer on the project, as are Sean Lydiard and Jaylen Moore of Rumble Riot and the original film’s producer Ann Zhang of Beijing Pu Luo Media Co. Deadwyler is an executive producer, along with Elliott Michael Smith and RJ Collins of Rumble Riot, Richie Doyle of Fremont Films, Alex Bretow of Mammoth Pictures, Lei Zheng and Chengxi Li of Beijing Pu Luo Media Co, Randall J. Bacon, Dean Scheske, Joseph Lanius, Danny R. Carmona, and Jovanna Burke.

Have you seen Parallel Forest (pictured below)? If so, are you interested in seeing another version of the story? Share your thoughts on this project by leaving a comment.