Jeff Goldblum’s Netflix God Series Casts Medusa
A dark new Netflix series in which Jeff Goldblum plays the most powerful of all gods just found its Medusa.
The upcoming Netflix series Kaos, in which actor Jeff Goldblum will play the Greek god Zeus, has just cast one of the most famous figures of mythology. Deadline reports that actor Debi Mazar will be portraying Medusa, a legendary monster with the power to turn humans into stone by gazing at them. The new series is being described as a dark modern re-imagining of various Greek myths, so it will have to be seen how this particular version of Medusa is depicted. However, the “dark” part indicates this will probably not be a Jeff Goldblum series in which everything turns out well for everyone and nobody ends up being turned into stone.
Along with Jeff Goldblum as Zeus and Debi Mazar as Medusa, Kaos will star New Zealand character actor Cliff Curtis as Poseidon, god of the seas, and British actor David Thewlis (recently of Netflix’s The Sandman) as Hades, god of the underworld. The combination of Jeff Goldblum, Cliff Curtis, and David Thewlis’ characters are frequently depicted as a triumvirate of powers within the universe and the eldest sons of the Titan Chronos, who reigned supreme over the primordial chaos (or kaos, as it were) before being overthrown by his own children. The descriptions of the show indicate that the world of Kaos is a combination of our own familiar modern world in which the gods still rule the world under the leadership of Jeff Goldblum, so it will be interesting to see if that particular aspect of the Greek world origin story is incorporated.
Jeff Goldblum is actually replacing British actor Hugh Grant in the role of Zeus; reportedly, Grant was forced to bow out of the series due to scheduling conflicts. Still, there are few people who could step into the role of an arrogant, self-centered omnipotent deity who still has difficulty with feelings of existential dread and aging like Jeff Goldblum, so we are not exactly complaining about the switch. Kaos is being developed and written by Charlie Covell, who was also behind the hit Netflix show The End of the F***ing World. Covell wrote all episodes of the show’s two seasons but has declined to return for a third.
Along with the various mythological beings led by Jeff Goldblum, Kaos will also follow a number of mortals who find their destinies lead them to an ancient prophecy. The mortals will be played by Killian Scott, Misia Butler, Leila Farzad, Rakie Ayola, Nabhaan Rizwan, and Stanley Townsend. Prior to portraying Medusa in Kaos, Debi Mazar is known for her role in the long-running HBO series Entourage. She also starred in a number of 1990s classics like Goodfellas and Singles. The character of Medusa has long been associated with a number of negative interactions with the sea god Poseidon, so it is very likely that we may see Debi Mazar and Cliff Curtis come into conflict. Additionally, she was eventually beheaded by the hero Perseus during his journeys, so we will have to wait and see if he is eventually announced as one of the mortals.
