Léa Seydoux, the current Queen of Cannes with starring roles in David Cronenberg’s hotly anticipated Crimes of the Future and Mia Hansen-Love’s One Fine Morning, is set to lead upcoming time-skipping sci-fi romance The Beast alongside 1917’s George MacKay.
From writer/director Bertrand Bonello, who directed 2016’s Nocturma and also had a supporting role in last year’s Palme d’Or winner Titane, the film is being launched in the Cannes Film Market, the Marche du Film, with Kinology representing international sales on the project.
Set in the near future where emotions have become a threat, The Beast follows Gabrielle (Seydoux), who finally decides to purify her DNA in a machine that will immerse her in her previous lives and rid her of any strong feelings. But when she meets Louis (MacKay,) she feels a powerful connection, as if she has known him forever, in a story that unfolds over three distinct periods, 1910, 2014 and 2044.
The Beast is being produced by Justin Taurant at the Paris-based Les Films de Belier.
Arguably France’s biggest star and one of the most in-demand names in the industry, Seydoux has numerous projects coming up, including a newly-announced adaptation of Emmanuelle. MacKay was recently seen in Wolf and Munich – The Edge of War and will appear in Golden Age musical The End from Joshua Oppenheimer.
While Seydoux and MacKay may not have starred alongside each other previously, in 2014 both were nominated for a BAFTA Rising Star award.
Source: HollyWood
