Netflix is teaming up with Jennifer Lopez in her third Netflix original movie called Atlas. The project comes after two other movies, The Mother and The Cipher in the Jennifer Lopez/Netflix pipeline in her overall first-look deal with the streamer.
Netflix’s Atlas will be helmed by Brad Peyton, who directed such movies as Rampage, San Andreas and Journey 2 with Dwayne Johnson. The script for Atlas was originally written by Armenian screenwriter Leo Sardarian (StartUp) and was later passed to Aron Eli Coleite (Locke & Key, Heroes, Star Trek: Discovery).
Director Brad Peyton (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
Atlas will be produced by Jennifer Lopez for her Nuyorican Productions as well as Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina joining her, along with Joby Harold and Tory Tunnell for Safehouse Pictures and with Peyton and Jeff Fierson for ASAP Entertainment.
Peyton commented on starting the work on this film:
“I’m so honored to be working with Jennifer, Elaine and the rest of the team at Nuyorican Productions along with our partners Joby and Tory at Safehouse, Having the chance to direct Jennifer in the title role of this movie is a dream come true, as I know she’ll bring the incredible strength, depth and authenticity we’ve all come to admire from her work.”
Here’s everything else we know about Netflix’s Atlas:
What’s the plot of Atlas?
The following is an extended synopsis for Netflix’s Atlas as seen in issue 1251 of Production Weekly:
The sci-fi thriller follows Atlas, a military intelligence officer who has spent years pursuing intergalactic terrorist Harlan who murdered her family during an attack on her agency’s headquarters on Earth. Now she’s in space to oversee a mission to capture Harlan at his remote planet hideout. Things go south quickly when their ship is struck by missiles and she’s forced to don an AI driven mechanical armored suit and evacuate with the soldiers.
All are killed in an aerial battle on the way down except for her and she is left stranded on the surface, surrounded by hostiles, with little knowledge of how the AI suit works. She gets acquainted with the suit, and it helps her out and gets her headed for an escape pod planted some distance away, with limited time left before the suit fails. She battles technologically augmented enemy soldiers and the hostile environment and soon acquires a location for Harlan, so she detours to try and fulfill the mission and capture him, despite being injured.
He captures her instead and she manages to get free with help from the suit and thwart a planned attack on Earth. She reaches the escape pod running on fumes and is met by Harlan and fights him to the death. She is forced to abandon the suit despite a strong bond formed between her and it, and gets away in the nick of time. She decides to join the military afterwards as a soldier and gets a new suit that she relates to the same as the old one, as she prepares to take on the next battle, a changed woman.
Who is cast in Atlas?
Renowned singer and actress Jennifer Lopez will lead Atlas for Netflix. Her recent acting work includes Golden Globe-nominated Hustlers, Second Act and Shades of Blue. Lopez will be playing the role of the title character, Atlas, a military intelligence officer who is on a hunt for an intergalactic terrorist.
What’s the production status of Atlas?
Netflix’s Atlas is currently in active development, but alas no production dates are known as of yet. That being said, production is expected to take place in Los Angeles, US and New Zealand. It’s also important to take into account the other two upcoming Netflix films starring Jennifer Lopez. First is The Mother that starts production in Fall 2021, and then The Cipher, which has no production dates as of yet.
What’s the release date for Atlas?
Given Jennifer Lopez’s busy schedule and the film is very heavy on special effects, we would expect Atlas to be released no sooner than 2023.