Everything we know so far about Ron Howard’s new movie ‘Eden’
Director Ron Howard has directed his fair share of epic cinematic tales. From Apollo 13’s space mission from hell to The Da Vinci Code with its seemingly bottomless budget and the full-throttle cinematography required of 2013’s Formula 1 biopic Rush. But what about the very first story, the genesis of our species?
That’s the story which the title of Howard’s latest movie, Eden, implies he’s about to tell. Produced under the working title ‘Origin of Species’, Eden certainly does seem to throw up some allusions to the story of humanity’s creation – both the biblical and Darwinian versions.
But more overtly, the information about the film that’s been released so far suggests it’s a contemporary story about a group of people travelling to the Galapagos Islands in the present day—the same islands that Charles Darwin famously visited to conduct research on which he based his theory of evolution. This theory was published in the revolutionary scientific work On the Origin of Species in 1859.
It’s not yet clear whether Darwin’s story will feature in the film at all. And if it does, how or why? However, the movie’s title and choice of setting strongly suggest that the philosophical conundrum of humanity’s origins will be an important theme.
Aside from this theme, though, there must be more to the plot.
What is Eden all about, then?
In fact, the film is based on multiple accounts of a story that’s apparently true, given by some of those involved. Although we don’t yet know the period in which it’s set, we do know that the plot involves a group of people in relatively modern times who collectively decide to leave civilisation behind.
For some reason, they determine that the best place for them to leave behind the trappings of modern life is the Galapagos Islands, which also happens to have contained clues to the origins of human existence. The group go in search of the real meaning of life and happiness on the islands but suddenly find themselves in a battle for survival. Whether this battle is against nature, one another, or both hasn’t yet been revealed.
To find out more, we’ll likely have to watch the movie itself. Or watch its trailer, which should be on the way in the coming weeks or months.
The screenplay for Eden was written by Noan Pink, who wrote the script for the acclaimed biographical film Tetris. That movie was about the true story of Henk Rogers marketing the Soviet-invented video game Tetris around the world. And so, the fact that Pink was on board from the beginning of Howard’s latest project strongly suggests that it’s based on historical events.
How did Howard come to direct the movie?
Ron Howard is one of the most revered directors in Hollywood at this point, with enormous industry clout and the freedom to choose what pictures he works on and steer their production. It looks like that’s exactly what’s happened with Eden.
The project may be the brainchild of the director himself, who happened upon its true-story inspiration and decided to make a movie about it. His own company, Imagine Entertainment, co-founded with fellow director Brian Glazer, launched the production. And Howard has overseen casting and scouted filming locations himself. He and Glazer share producer credits.
Part of the movie has been shot in Queensland, northern Australia, which will have provided the type of jungle terrain ideal for a survival thriller set in a remote area with unyielding natural surroundings. Howard said as much himself in a brief interview with Australia’s 9 News channel six months ago, explaining that the territory had “locations that happen to fit the story that I want to tell.”
The rest of the on-location shooting has taken place on the Galapagos Islands themselves, so we can expect some stunning panorama shots to feature in the movie. It won’t have been easy shooting in such a forbidding part of the world, but Howard is used to worse, having overcome treacherous conditions during the production of his 1988 fantasy film Willow on-location in New Zealand.
Other than his choice of filming locations, Howard hasn’t shared much about his development of the movie. In his 9 News, he added, “I can’t really say too much about it yet because we’re still in the very early stages.” Clearly, the script was already completed by then, and the casting had been finalised, so he could have given away far more than he did. But he wants to keep us in suspense until the premiere.
And who’s in the Eden cast?
One thing we do know that should get us particularly excited about the film is who’s starring in it.
Veteran Hollywood leading man Jude Law is enough to get everyone’s attention on his own. And that’s before you add in The Crown’s Vanessa Kirby and Daniel Brühl, who previously worked with Howard on Rush.
A-list rising star Sydney Sweeney is also involved, as is Australian actor Richard Roxburgh and Austrian Felix Kammerer, star of All Quiet on the Western Front. Meanwhile, young British-Australian Toby Wallace could be the movie’s breakout performer.
Such a diverse international cast, featuring Brits, German, and Spanish speakers, plenty of Australians, and just one American, suggests that the characters in the film will come together from different parts of the world. How they meet is one of the many questions we’ll be wondering going in.
To round out Eden’s star-studded cast, Ana de Armas of Blade Runner 2049, Knives Out, James Bond, and Blonde fame has received top billing alongside Law.
So what role will Ana de Armas play?
We can only speculate as to whether the Cuban-Spanish actor will play a leading role in the group of disparate travellers who go in search of meaning and happiness on the Galapagos Islands. Perhaps her position at the top of the cast list implies that she has a different part to play altogether.
One thing is for sure. De Armas’ proven versatility across her recent performances in major productions could place her in a range of roles. She could be the film’s principal hero or villain or provide a comic turn as well as a female-driven subplot. And her credentials for swashbuckling action-adventure cannot be doubted.
But when and where will the film be released?
So, you know where Eden is set, who’s involved and have a rough idea of the movie’s premise. But where and when can you see it?
Well, the film has been mooted for a premiere slot at the Venice Film Festival in August for a while now. And licensing company AGC has just sold screening rights to the film for over 30 countries to Amazon Prime Video, at the Marché du Film in Cannes.
The countries in question include the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Scandinavia, Spain, all of Latin America and the Caribbean, South Africa, Japan, South Korea, India, Turkey and other Asian territories. Rights have been secured for other countries, including Germany, Italy, Poland, and the entire Middle East, by various distributors.
Nothing has yet been announced about whether the movie will have a limited run in cinemas in the countries where Amazon Prime has secured the rights, as well as its availability on the streaming platform. And rights to the US market will only be sold later in the year, likely after the movie’s premiere.
By the autumn, we should have a clearer picture of how Eden will be released. That includes when it will be available on Amazon Prime and whether cinemas will get the chance to show the film before it moves to the streaming giant.
