Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins is set to helm a new sci-fi thriller, The Natural Order, featuring rising star Glen Powell. The project, which explores the theme of eternal life, is based on an unpublished manuscript by Matthew Aldrich, known for his work on Disney’s Coco.
Universal Pictures has secured the rights to Aldrich’s original pitch and has tapped Jenkins to direct the adaptation. Both Jenkins and Aldrich are attached to co-write the screenplay, marking Aldrich’s debut as a novelist.
This high-profile collaboration comes on the heels of two major career milestones for both Jenkins and Powell. Jenkins recently directed Mufasa: The Lion King for Disney, which became the seventh-highest-grossing film worldwide in 2024, raking in over $700 million. Powell, meanwhile, has enjoyed a standout year with back-to-back successes, starring in Sony’s romantic comedy Anyone but You, Universal’s Twisters, and earning critical acclaim for his role in Netflix’s Hit Man, for which he received Golden Globe and WGA nominations.
The film also marks the continuation of Powell’s partnership with Universal, following the box-office triumph of Twisters, which grossed $372 million globally and secured a spot as one of the year’s top domestic releases.
The Natural Order will be the first project produced under Jenkins’ Barnstorm Productions’ new first-look deal with Universal, which was finalized last month. Jenkins, alongside Dan Cohen, will produce the film, with Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, and Jenkins producing under their Pastel banner. Jewerl Keats Ross is also attached as a producer, while Universal’s Senior EVP of production development, Erik Baiers, will oversee the project.
Powell is represented by CAA and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole, while Jenkins and Aldrich are repped by CAA, manager Jewerl Keats Ross, and lawyer Jamie Feldman.
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