• Sam Esmail is turning the novel Leave the World Behind into a film, his first since 2016.
• The film features a star-laden cast including Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, and Kevin Bacon, arriving on Netflix in December.
• Leave the World Behind is the first film from Michelle and Barack Obama’s Higher Ground Productions.

One of our favourite tech-themed TV series from recent years was Mr Robot. The series brought together cybercrime, mental illness and late-stage capitalism in a wonderful story that was told through the eyes of Rami Malek’s Elliot Alderson.

The creator of that series, Sam Esmail has been creating other TV series since Mr Robot wrapped in 2019. He’s worked on Homecoming, Briarpatch and others. Now, the acclaimed director and screenwriter has returned to the world of cinema with his first movie since 2016’s Risk.

That movie is Leave the World Behind which is based on Rumaan Alam’s novel of the same name.

The film features a star-studded cast with roles being taken up by Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke and Kevin Bacon.

“Amanda [Roberts] and Clay’s [Hawke] aspirational vacation with their teenage children is interrupted by the arrival of a middle-aged couple who own the holiday home and who have fled an unprecedented blackout in the city. When the internet, television and radio stop working, as does the landline, they have no way of finding out what is happening. As strange sonic booms shatter the peace of the countryside, and animals start to migrate in strange ways, the physical and mental health of the families begins to disintegrate. The renters are upscale and White; the owners are upscale and Black. The issues of race and clash become distractions to the more alarming things are happening all around them,” reads an IMDB blurb about the film.

The film will see a dual release in both cinemas and on Netflix. The movie hit theatres in the US on 22nd November and then heads to Netflix on 8th December.

As this movie is based on a novel, you’re very likely to encounter spoilers so if you have any interest in seeing how this one plays out, consider avoiding the internet or even just searching for the film online.

One interesting aspect of this film to note is that it’s the first from Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions. The former US president loved the book and was reportedly personally invested in turning it into a film adaptation per Variety.

“He had a lot notes about the characters and the empathy we would have for them,” Esmail told Vanity Fair. “I have to say he is a big movie lover, and he wasn’t just giving notes about things that were from his background. He was giving notes as a fan of the book, and he wanted to see a really good film”.

There is a lot of star power behind this film and we’re quite excited to see it when it hits Netflix later this year.