Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz and Bill Skarsgard are toplining the indie sci-fi drama Nine Days, the debut feature from writer-director Edson Oda.
Duke is to pay a reclusive man in an unreal house who interviews potential candidates, including the characters of Beetz and Skarsgard, to enjoy the privilege of being born. Nine Days is produced by Mandalay Pictures, Nowhere, Juniper Productions and Macro, in association with The Space Program, Mansa Productions, Oak Street Pictures, 30WEST, and Datari Turner Productions.
The project, which also stars Benedict Wong and David Rysdahl, was developed through the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program Labs. Production is set for this summer.
“I’m thrilled to be working with such an incredible cast and amazing team. So grateful for all the support I have received. Nine Days is a very personal story to me, and I can’t imagine a better team to help me tell it,” said director Oda in a statement.
Duke appeared on a handful of television shows such as Person of Interest before being cast as M’Baku, the bellicose leader of a warrior kingdom in Black Panther. He became a breakout character and also appeared in Us.
Beetz gained notices for her breakout work on FX’s Donald Glover-led series Atlanta. The show trampolined her into high-profile movie roles, including the Deadpool sequel and Fox Searchlight’s upcoming Noah Hawley sci-fi drama starring Natalie Portman.
Skarsgard played Pennywise the Clown in It and also appeared in Assassination Nation. CAA Media Finance and 30WEST are representing worldwide distribution rights for Nine Days. The producer credits are shared by Jason Michael Berman, Mette-Marie Kongsved, Laura Tunstall, Matthew Lindner and Datari Turner.
Nine Days is executive produced by Charles D. King, Kim Roth, Gus Deardoff, Kellon Akeem, Dwight Howard, Renee Frigo, Beth Hubbard, Trevor Groth, Duke, Will Raynor, Michelle Craig, Piero Frescobaldi, Caroline Connor, Mark G. Mathis, Mark C. Stevens and Larry Weinberg.
Oda is repped by CAA and Gotham Group. Duke is repped by CAA, while Beetz is repped by Gersh and Grandview. Skarsgard is repped by WME and Magnolia Entertainment, Wong is repped by Anonymous Content and Rysdahl is repped by ICM and Grandview.