Like the genetic matter those brainy Engineers scatter about in Prometheus, Ridley Scott’s DNA is a potent filmmaking force in its own right. Two of his offspring, oldest son Jake (Welcome To The Rileys, Plunkett & Macleane) and daughter Jordan (Cracks), have already directed movies and now the third, Luke Scott, is joining them with his debut film Morgan. The sci-fi thriller has just added Kate Mara to its cast list.
Mara will be joined by newcomer Anya Taylor-Joy, who impressed Sundance audiences with her turn in buzzed-about horror The Witch. Morgan's plot focuses on a corporate risk-management consultant, although the actual corporate risk-management depicted on screen will likely be kept to a minimum when the consultant is summoned to a remote lab to evaluate an artificial being with a view to its termination.
There’s shades of Ex Machina in Seth Owen’s 2014 Black List script, although it also taps into Ridley’s A.I. explorations in Alien and Prometheus. Ridley Scott, who is currently directing Mara in The Martian, is producing alongside Scott Free's Michael Schaefer and Elishia Holmes.
Luke Scott worked as second unit director on Exodus: Gods And Kings. You may have spotted him on the other side of the screen too, although you’d likely not have known it. He popped up alongside his brother in a very youthful cameo in his dad’s debut feature, The Duellists. Given the beautiful circularity, would a cameo from his dad in this one be too much to ask for?