Ursa Major: Jessica Biel replaces Mary Elizabeth Winstead in sci-fi thriller

Nearly eight months have gone by since we heard that Mary Elizabeth Winstead (10 Cloverfield Lane) was set to star in the sci-fi thriller Ursa Major with Xochitl Gomez (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) – but now Deadline has revealed that Winstead had to drop out of the project due to scheduling conflicts. Taking over the role that had previously been assigned to Winstead is Jessica Biel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2003).

Twin brother directors Jonathan and Josh Baker are at the helm of Ursa Major, working from a screenplay written by Colleen O’Brien, Katie French, and Station Eleven creator Patrick Somerville. That trio crafted the story of Charlie (Biel) and Natalie (Gomez), a mother and daughter pair of survivors trapped on a harsh Earth-like planet. As a deadly storm heads toward the planetoid, the duo avoids encroaching elements, crazed hunters, and more. While Natalie has always trusted her mother, she’s beginning to question the strategies they’ve used to survive and thinks it might be time to change who leads the charge.

Somerville is producing the film with Tractor Beam with David Eisenberg and Stephanie Jacob-Goldman. John Finemore of Lost City, Mason Novick of MXN Entertainment, and Allen Fischer and Brian Steinberg of Artists First are also producing. Lost City’s James Hoppe and Jack Byrnes serve as executive producers, in association with XYZ Films, who are handling worldwide sales.

Ursa Major sounds interesting to me, and if you’re going to lose Mary Elizabeth Winstead from a project, Jessica Biel is a solid choice of replacement. I look forward to seeing how this movie is going to turn out.

How does Ursa Major sound to you, and what do you think of Biel being chosen to replace Winstead? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

This will be the second feature for the Baker brothers, who made their feature directorial debut with the 2018 sci-fi movie Kin. The star-studded cast for that one included Myles Truitt, Jack Reynor, Dennis Quaid, Zoe Kravitz, James Franco, Michael B. Jordan, and Carrie Coon. Now we wait to see who will be cast as the “crazed hunters” and other people Biel and Gomez will be interacting with in Ursa Major.