Rooney Mara Latest Actor To Get Netflix Original Movie In ‘The Discovery’

Rooney Mara is the latest in what is becoming a rather distinguished group of actors to star in a Netflix original movie or television show. Rooney Mara’s project is also going to star Jason Segel and Robert Redford and is a science fiction thriller as well as a romance about love and the afterlife. The film, called The Discovery, is one of the first projects Mara has been involved in since Rooney’s critically acclaimed turn in Carol.

The plot of the film follows Redford, who is a scientist that can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that an afterlife does exist. While Redford’s character is winning all kinds of acclaim for this discovery, his son Will (Segel) and Isla (Mara) begin a profound and loving romance. This is despite the fact that Rooney Mara is playing a character with a rather tragic past. To figure out just what this tragic past might be, fans of Mara are going to have to stream the film when it becomes available on Netflix.

The announcement that Rooney Mara has joined the Netflix stable of big-name actors who are starring in Netflix programming is hot on the heels of some other big stars saying they will be making new content for the streaming video service. Entertainment Weekly reports Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts, and Selena Gomez are going to be starring in a movie called The Fundamentals of Caring. While people are going to have to wait a bit for Rooney Mara’s The Discovery, Rudd’s picture is due to hit the service on June 24.

Tallulah(starring Ellen Page and Allison Janney) is slated to debut on Netflix on July 29, and an animated film called The Little Prince is set to debut in August. UPI reports Charlie McDowell will be penning the script for Rooney Mara’s newest project, and the picture is going to be hitting the streaming website sometime in 2017. Rooney Mara might be one of the biggest names on the cast list, but The Discovery seems to have a rather impressive list of supporting actors as well.

Riley Keough and Ron Canada are also among those who will take a turn in the science fiction drama. Interestingly enough, Rooney is the second Mara to take a starring turn in a Netflix original project. Her sister, Kate Mara, beat her to the streaming service by a couple of years. Kate Mara played a reporter who first used Francis Underhill as a source, and then as a lover in the political thriller House of Cards.

One big difference between the projects the Mara sisters have worked on for Netflix is that House of Cards is an Americanized version of a BBC program by the same name. The BBC version took place in the British Parliament while Kate Mara’s House of Cards centered around Washington, D.C., and the rise of Francis Underwood from the House Whip to President of the United States.

Netflix issued a statement about The Discovery, which is an entirely new project rather than one based on a previous movie or television show.

“To describe the story as original doesn’t begin to capture the world that Charlie has created that will envelop you. Our global viewers are going to love this film,” Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement Monday. With talented writers and an all-star cast comprised of Robert Redford, Jason Segel, and Rooney Mara, it certainly seems as if The Discovery could indeed be one of the most popular projects the service has rolled out.

[Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]