These stars from “Agents of SHIELD” and “Without a Trace” star in this robot epic

The first robot story comes to the screen, courtesy of a science fiction visionary Alex Proyas (The crow, Dark City, I Robot). Mallory Jansen, Anthony LaPagliaAnd Lindsay Ferris will play the main role in RURAccording to Deadline, filming on the movie will begin this fall in Sydney, Australia.

Jansen plays Helena, a woman who visits the island factory of Rossum's Universal Robots (the RUR of the title) to free the robots from their human masters. Her actions, although well-intentioned, have disastrous consequences for humanity. Proyas says: “Karel Capek“The Inspector” is about man’s misuse of technology, which is even more powerful today, so I am delighted to be able to present this story to the audience today.” Australian actress Jansen is best known in North America for her roles in Galavant, Agents of SHIELDAnd The big leap. LaPaglia is a well-known presence on the big and small screen, thanks to his roles in Without any trace, FrasierAnd Empire Records; he recently played in Florida Man And Boy swallows universe. Ferris previously starred in Proyas' Gods of Egyptand also appeared on Ash vs Evil Dead. The film will be Proyas' first feature film since 2016 Gods of Egyptwhich was a disappointment with critics and at the box office.

What is “RUR” about?

Written by Czech author Čapek in 1920, RUR revolves around the creation of artificial humans – “robots” – by the mad scientist Rossum. Helena Glory, the leader of the Humanity League, tries to free the robots from capitalist oppression, but instead instigates a robot uprising. From the ashes of humanity, however, a new race arises. The play was a huge success; it premiered in 1921 and was translated into 30 languages ​​within a few years. Sarah made his Broadway debut in the first American production. Čapek coined the word “robot” in the play, derived from the Czech word “robota,” meaning “forced labor.” “Robot” quickly became the de facto name of many mechanical beings in science fiction, securing Čapek a place in science fiction history. Many subsequent productions dealing with artificial intelligence paid homage to the play, but it was never fully adapted for the screen.

In addition to directing RUR and wrote the screenplay, Proyas will also produce the film, together with Morris Ruskin, Adam Krentzman, Steven MatuskoAnd Brett Thornquest. Matthew Rhodes by The Hideaway Entertainment, Rohit KhannaAnd Alasdair King of Icon Film will be executive producer.

RUR is currently in pre-production and filming will begin on October 21st; No release date has been set yet. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.