Dual: Karen Gillan, Aaron Paul sci-fi thriller acquired by RLJE Films

Writer/director Riley Stearns’ sci-fi thriller Dual just had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this week, and our own Chris Bumbray had the chance to watch the movie, giving it an 8/10 review you can read at THIS LINK. That premiere screening was followed by a bidding war over the distribution rights, and Deadline reports that RLJE Films has managed to acquire the U.S. distribution rights for an amount somewhere in the low-to-mid seven figure range. The company has not yet announced how or exactly when they plan to release the film.

Dual stars Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy) as

a woman who, after receiving a terminal diagnosis, opts for a cloning procedure to ease her loss on her friends and family. When she makes a miraculous recovery, her attempts to have her clone decommissioned fail and lead to a court-mandated duel to the death.

Gillan is joined in the cast by Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Beulah Koale (Hawaii Five-O), and Martha Kelly (Baskets), with Stearns’ The Art of Self Defense star Jesse Eisenberg making a special appearance.

Stearns produced Dual with XYZ Films. Filming took place in Tampere, Finland, and some of the financing was provided by the Finnish venture capital company IPR.VC. The production ended up in Finland because they were looking for somewhere to film in the midst of the pandemic, and the country turned out to be such a good host that XYZ plans to make more movies there.

RLJE Films’ Mark Ward had this to say about the distribution deal:

Dual was a film we were targeting from the beginning of the Sundance Film Festival and it exceeded our expectations. We are happy to be working with our partners at XYZ Films yet again and can’t wait to release the film later this year.”

Stearns added:

Shooting Dual with XYZ during a global pandemic will forever be an experience I look back on with a tremendous amount of pride. I’m beyond thrilled to enter the next stage of this journey with the team at RLJE Films and I can’t wait for audiences to see a film which we all deeply care for.”

I was sold on watching Dual as soon as it was announced that Karen Gillan was starring in a movie that with plot synopsis, and Bumbray’s 8/10 review has made me even more interested in watching it. Hopefully it won’t be much longer before RLJE reveals the 2022 release date.