Jeff Nichols And Michael Shannon Reteam For Sci-Fi Chase Thriller Midnight Special
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With just three films behind him, Jeff Nichols has cemented himself as one of the most intriguing young directors in Hollywood. Perhaps that’s because the wild-eyed thesp Michael Shannon has been an integral part of each of his features. From the intense familial drama of Shotgun Stories to the potential insanity of Take Shelter — for which Shannon won a Best Actor Saturn Award — to his detail-redacted role in the recently released fugitive thriller Mud, Shannon has been a force to be reckoned with in Nichols’ cinema.
After some Shannon-fueled rumors of another upcoming collaboration, we can now rest assured that the two will reteam for a present-day sci-fi chase thriller for Warner Bros., entitled Midnight Special. Shannon recently starred in the bicycle chase flick Premium Rush, but I’m guessing this film will get a tad more complicated. Nichols also wrote the screenplay, which Warner Bros. acquired before deciding to bring him on as a director, making it his first big studio film. Something tells me he’s more than qualified for the job.
The plotline for this film is largely unknown, so we have to look back to an interview Nichols gave to MovieMezzanine in January.
Right now I’m working on this one called Midnight Special. I won’t talk too much about it now, other than to say I kind of want to make a 1980s John Carpenter movie. If I had to choose one of those it would be Starman.
It’s interesting because I’m doing the same thing I did in the summer of 2008 where I’m writing two scripts at once. And so Midnight Special is going to be a genre film put through whatever bizarre filter is me.
Michael Shannon will next be seen trying to destroy humanity as General Zod in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, but we’d rather picture him as a gentler alien. Perhaps one who gets Karen Allen to fall in love with him.
