Jodie Comer Boards Cannes Market Apocalyptic Thriller “The End We Start From,” Mahalia Belo to Direct

Films

Jodie Comer Boards Cannes Market Apocalyptic Thriller “The End We Start From,” Mahalia Belo to Direct

Jodie Comer has lined up her next project, hot off the heels of the end of “Killing Eve.” Deadline broke the news that she has signed on to star in thriller “The End We Start From,” adapted from Megan Hunter’s critically acclaimed novel of the same name.

Playwright and screenwriter Alice Birch (“Lady Macbeth”) is on scriptwriting duties, while Mahalia Belo (“The Long Song”) will direct. Leah Clarke (“The Mauritanian”), Liza Marshall (“Temple”), Sophie Hunter, and Amy Jackson (“The Nest”) are among the producers.

Described as “reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Road’,” the female fronted story will see Comer play a mother of a newborn who is trying to find a way home amid an environmental crisis that has seen London besieged by flood waters. The project is being shopped at the Cannes market next week.

Said producers Clarke, Marshall, and Adam Ackland: “’The End We Start From’ is very close to our hearts. Megan’s heart-wrenching novel, and Alice’s wonderful adaptation, present a story about motherhood, separation, social and environmental upheaval, and those primal instincts in us which draw moments of joy and inspiration out of the chaos. We are incredibly excited to have Mahalia and Jodie lead this talented creative team in making what we know will be a resonant, riveting film.”

Production is scheduled to begin this summer.

Comer, who will also executive produce, won a second BAFTA TV Award last night for her performance in Channel 4’s “Help,” which is set in a crisis-stricken care home at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. In her acceptance speech, she credited her collaborators for “completely changing my view and priorities in the work I want to do going forwards.” She previously won a BAFTA — and an Emmy — for her performance as assassin Villanelle in “Killing Eve,” and earned praise for her role in feature film “The Last Duel.”

Belo won a Breakthrough Talent BAFTA TV Award for directing Channel 4 film “Ellen.” She also directed all episodes of miniseries “Requiem” and “The Long Song.”

Birch was nominated for two BAFTAs — Outstanding British Film and Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer — as scribe for “Lady Macbeth,” was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series for Sally Rooney’s “Normal People,” and has also earned accolades for TV series “Succession.” She is the showrunner on the upcoming Rachel Weisz series “Dead Ringers.”