Science fiction, at its best, is always looking forward, always looking for the next innovative story to tell. The best science fiction movie of 2018 is shaping up to be a wild, terrifying ride filled with mutant demon bears and a potential government cover-up. No, it’s not Solo: A Star Wars Story.
On Wednesday, the world finally got a full-length trailer for Annihilation, an upcoming science fiction film from Ex Machina director Alex Garland. Based on Jeff VanderMeer’s award-winning 2014 novel of the same name, Annihilation tells the story of a group of group of four female scientists who traverse into a mysterious place known only as “Area X.” Blocked off from the rest of the world by a strange barrier, Area X is a psychological nightmare that’s growing larger all the time, threatening to engulf cities.
The scientists — the Biologist (Natalie Portman), the Surveyor (Tessa Thompson), the Psychologist (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and the Anthropologist Anya Thorensen (Gina Rodriguez) — pick their way through the barrier and into Area X with the knowledge that they might not come back.
From this new trailer, Garland’s Annihilation seems to steer away from the book a little bit, which is a fair choice. Annihilation is the first book in VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy and Garland has said he doesn’t plan on continuing the story after the first film. So, things have to wrap up in the film a little more cleanly than in the book.
Here’s the official synopsis for Annihilation:
A biologist searches for her missing husband while on an expedition with a secret agency and discovers a dangerous creature lurking in the wilderness.
If you’ve read VanderMeer’s novel, then you understand that this film will most likely be an epic adventure filled with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. And the movie is looking even more intense than the book.
Annihilation premieres in theaters on February 23, 2018.
