What does Barry Jenkins have lined up next after “Mufasa“? THR reports the director will team up with one of Hollywood’s fastest-rising stars for a sci-fi thriller. Let’s get into it, shall we?
Jenkins jumps from Disney to Universal for his next project, “The Natural Order,” a sci-fi thriller about the search for eternal life, with Glen Powell attached to star. The film is the first in Powell’s first-look deal with Universal through his Barnstorm banner. Jenkins co-writes the script with “Coco” scribe Matthew Aldrich, an adaptation of Aldrich’s unpublished manuscript of the same name. Powell also produces with partner Dan Cohen via Barnstorm, along with Adele Romanski and Mark Ceryak via Pastel, and Jewerl Keats Ross.
Jenkins and Powell working on a sci-fi film together? Sign us up. The genre is a slight departure for Jenkins as a director, but he flirted with speculative fiction on his limited series “The Underground Railroad,” so he should be just fine here. But what’s most intriguing about “The Natural Order” is its possible budget. Jenkins is coming off a box office giant in “Mufasa,” which made $700 million globally, the most a film of his has made by a huge margin. Does that mean Universal gives him the keys and lets him and Powell make a big-budget blockbuster here? We’ll see. But don’t expect “The Natural Order” to resemble 2016 Oscar Best Picture winner “Moonlight” or any of Jenkins’ other earlier works.
But “The Natural Order” fits perfectly in Glen Powell’s current wheelhouse. The A-lister is fresh from last summer’s “Twisters,” a modest hit for Universal, and stars next in Edgar Wright‘s remake of “The Running Man“ at Paramount. Powell also has Ari Aster‘s “Huntington” on deck, but A24 still hasn’t given that movie an official release date yet. Then there’s “Top Gun 3” further off in the distance, but that project remains in early development. “The Natural Order” should keep Powell’s star shining bright until he flies again with Tom Cruise‘s Maverick.
As for a release date for “The Natural Order”? Let’s predict this one gets a Summer 2026 theatrical release, but stay tuned on official details there.
