A24 has acquired U.S. rights to Alex Garland‘s directorial debut “Ex Machina,” which stars Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander. A24 will release the film on April 10, 2015.
Garland also wrote the film, which was produced by DNA’s Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich. Scott Rudin and Eli Bush executive produced the film along with former Film4 head Tessa Ross. Universal International Pictures is distributing the film internationally.
“Ex Machina” is a stylish and cerebral thriller that follows Caleb Smith (Gleeson), a programmer at an internet-search giant who wins a competition to spend a week at the private mountain estate of the company’s brilliant and reclusive CEO, Nathan Bateman (Isaac). Upon his arrival, Caleb learns that Nathan has chosen him to be the human component in a Turing Test — charging him with evaluating the capabilities, and ultimately the consciousness, of Nathan’s latest experiment in artificial intelligence. That experiment is Ava (Vikander), a breathtaking A.I. whose emotional intelligence proves more sophisticated, seductive–and more deceptive–than the two men could have imagined.
“Alex Garland is already one of the most brilliant and distinctive writers working today. ‘Ex Machina’ marks the beginning of an exciting new step for Alex the director, and we are thrilled to help bring his provocative vision to US audiences,” A24 said in a statement.
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Isaac and Gleeson will both co-star in “Star Wars: Episode VII,” while Vikander has been filming DreamWorks’ “The Light Between Oceans” with Michael Fassbender.