Almost exactly one year ago today, it was announced that Christina Hendricks of the TV shows Mad Men and Good Girls had signed on to star in the psychological thriller Reckoner… but Hendricks has since run into scheduling issues, so Deadline reports that she has had to drop out of the project, with Noomi Rapace of Prometheus and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo stepping in to replace her.
Based on a short story by author Rachel Ingalls, Reckoner will mark the feature directorial debut of Nissar Modi, who previously wrote the 2013 horror film Breaking at the Edge and the 2015 sci-fi film Z for Zachariah. The story of Reckoner centers on an affluent woman whose carefully constructed life is disrupted by a young man connected to a tightly-held secret from her past.
The film is being produced by XYZ Films and Two & Two Pictures, with XYZ Films providing the financing. The company first presented the project to potential distributors at the Cannes Film Festival last year, and they will be taking it back to Cannes this year to continue world sales. Deadline notes that Reckoner is part of “Two & Two and XYZ’s production pact to produce films from first and second-time genre filmmakers from underrepresented demographics.“
When the casting of Hendricks was announced, Modi had this to say about the project: “I’m delighted to be working with the immensely talented Christina Hendricks on this haunting tale of guilt, obsession and revenge. It’s a film I’ve been envisioning for many years ever since I read Rachel Ingalls’ remarkable short story, and am excited to finally bring it to life thanks to the ever-supportive teams at XYZ Films and Two & Two.“ Now that Hendricks has been replaced by Rapace, Two & Two provided the following statement: “We are immensely excited to join forces with an exceptionally talented team for Reckoner. It is an honour to have Noomi Rapace on board to complement Nissar’s electrifying directorial debut.“
Wikipedia notes that Rachel Ingalls’ “reputation is characterised by deep admiration and acclaim but also a certain degree of obscurity.” The author said her limited commercial success was due to the “very odd, unsalable length” of her books, which were usually short story collections or novellas. Sadly, Ingalls passed away in 2019.
Are you interested in Reckoner? What do you think of Noomi Rapace replacing Christina Hendricks? Let us know by leaving a comment below.