Jack O’Connell and Odessa A’Zion Set Out To Prove the Earth Is Flat in ‘The End of the World as We Know It’

Few actors have had a run quite like Jack O’Connell’s over the past year. The BAFTA winner has played memorable villains in ‘Sinners’ and ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’, and he also stars in Danny Boyle’s ‘Ink’ alongside Guy Pearce and Claire Foy, which was chosen to open the Venice Film Festival.

Odessa A’zion has been on a similar upward climb. The BAFTA nominee broke through in ‘Marty Supreme’ and recently joined Justine Triet’s English-language thriller ‘Fonda’ for Studiocanal and MK2, alongside Ewan Mitchell, Cherry Jones and Benedict Wong.

Now the 2 rising stars are teaming up for one of the quirkiest premises of the year. According to an exclusive Variety report, O’Connell and A’zion will star in ‘The End of the World as We Know It’, playing a pair of star-crossed loners who meet on an epic pilgrimage to prove that the Earth is flat.

The film has been described as an unlikely adventure in truth and love. While the premise might sound like pure comedy, the filmmakers are aiming for something with more heart. Writer-directors Tom Berkeley and Ross White said they found the story hiding in the strangest of places. According to the duo, it spoke to the collective search for meaning, belonging and love in an increasingly disparate world.

Film outlet Filmofilia noted that this sincere approach gives the absurd premise a useful counterweight. The characters’ destination can stay comic, the outlet argued, without turning their need for connection into a joke.

Berkeley and White are no strangers to awards attention. Their short film ‘An Irish Goodbye’ won Best Live Action Short at the 2023 Academy Awards, along with a BAFTA. ‘The End of the World as We Know It’ marks the duo’s feature directing debut. They have described themselves as intensely lucky to have O’Connell and A’zion bringing their leads to life.

The filmmakers also praised the teams backing the project. Studiocanal, Working Title, Parkville Pictures and Film4 have all teamed up for the film. The project marks another collaboration between longtime partners. Studiocanal and Working Title are reuniting following the recent global release of ‘Pressure’.

Production is set to begin in Canada in November. No release date has been announced yet. The announcement quickly sparked plenty of jokes online. One fan quipped that flat-earthers getting their own movie before they get their own evidence is crazy.

Others were simply excited by the casting. Some commenters said O’Connell has quickly become one of their favorite actors over the past 18 months, while The Playlist suggested the film already sounds like one of the more intriguing romantic oddities on the horizon.

For O’Connell, the role continues an eclectic streak after a year filled with intense villains. Playing a romantic lead on an offbeat road adventure would be a welcome change of pace.

A’zion’s slate is filling up just as quickly, with Triet’s ‘Fonda’ also on the way. Pairing her with O’Connell gives the film 2 of the most in-demand young actors working today. With Oscar-winning filmmakers behind the camera and a genuinely unusual story at its core, ‘The End of the World as We Know It’ is shaping up to be one to watch.

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