Xochitl Gomez (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Birds of Prey) have signed to star as daughter and mother in Ursa Major, the upcoming sci-fi thriller from the minds of directing twins Jonathan and Josh Baker (Kin) as revealed by The Hollywood Reporter.
Gomez and Winstead will be playing Natalie and Charlie, who are fighting for their survival as they have to hide from a band of “relentless hunters” while dealing with the threat of a deadly storm looming on the horizon. This is all set in a world similar to Earth. The drama kicks into high gear when Natalie begins to question the decisions made by her mother. That spirals when she also questions what her mother has told her about how they got there and what is demanded of them to survive this world.
This Mexican-American star is fresh from her breakout role playing America Chavez in the Marvel Studios juggernaut Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and has played the lead in Netflix series The Baby-Sitters Club. Gomez is expected to return in future installments of the MCU as Chavez, particularly Avengers: Secret Wars.
Gomez recently told Remezcla that she is very aware of the character she is playing in the MCU and what that means to people. “I’m just happy that there’s people of all kinds that can look at the screen and be like, there’s a superhero.” I see them. “And I relate to them, and I see myself being represented because they’re there.” Because that means “I belong with the superheroes now, too.”
Ursa Major’s original script is co-penned by Patrick Sommerville, the writer behind Station Eleven and Made for Love, with authors Katie French and Colleen O’Brien joining. The picture will have producers Sommerville and his Station Eleven partner David Eisenberg via Tractor Beam. Among the other producers are John Finemore through Lost City, Mason Novick through MXN Entertainment, and Allen Fischer and Brian Steinberg representing Artists First.
James Hoppe and Jack Byrnes will be the exec producers through Lost City in association with XYZ Films, the latter is handling the worldwide sales and in next week they’ll be introducing the project to buyers at the Toronto International Film Festival.