Nine months ago, it was announced that Tessa Thompson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt had signed on to star in Ash, a sci-fi thriller from rapper and filmmaker Flying Lotus, a.k.a. Steven Ellison. Then, two months ago, we learned that Thompson and Gordon-Levitt both had to drop out of the project and were replaced by Eiza González (Baby Driver) and Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad). Filming on Ash is now underway, with González and Paul in the lead roles – and Deadline has revealed that they’re being joined in the cast by Beulah Koale (Hawaii Five-O), Kate Elliott (The Gulf), and Iko Uwais of the Raid films.
González will be playing a woman who wakes on a far-flung planet to find her crew mysteriously murdered. When a man (Paul) comes to investigate the scene, she must decide if she can trust him or if he’s responsible for her series of unfortunate events.
Flying Lotus is directing the film from a screenplay by Jonni Remmler and will also be composing the score. XYZ Films and GFC Films are producing Ash, with Neill Blomkamp and Echo Lake serving as executive producers. XYZ Films is co-financing the project with IPR.VC. Blomkamp is known for his own directing endeavors, including the films District 9, Elysium, Chappie, and Demonic. Individual producers are Nate Bolotin of XYZ Films and Matthew Metcalfe of GFC Films.
Flying Lotus provided the following statement when González and Paul were cast: “We are building something fresh and unique with Ash and having Eiza and Aaron in this world just makes it flames. They are absolute magic makers, brave and equally inspiring. All that to say… We ‘bout to kill this shit.“
Now that Ash is filming in New Zealand, we can assume that Flying Lotus and his cast and crew are in the process of killing this shit.
Are you interested in Ash? What do you think of Koale, Elliott, and Uwais joining the cast? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
Flying Lotus previously directed the experimental comedy Kuso and the Ozzy’s Dungeon segment of the horror anthology V/H/S/99.
