Dakota Johnson Goes Full Android in a Mind-Bending New Sci-Fi Thriller
Dakota Johnson goes full android as the lead of near-future sci-fi action Trudy Blue, marking her first plunge into the genre.
Dakota Johnson is suiting up for a straight-up sci-fi action lead. The Madame Web star will headline and produce a new near-future thriller called Trudy Blue, playing (wait for it) an android maid on a cross-country survival mission. It is exactly the kind of high-concept swing I did not expect to see from the guy who made Finding Dory, which is part of the fun here.
What is Trudy Blue?
Johnson leads as an outlawed android who wakes up in a trash heap thousands of miles from home and has to navigate a world that literally does not want her around anymore. The official logline lays it out:
"Set in the near future, the film follows an outlawed android maid who wakes up in a landfill 2,000 miles from home and must embark on a journey through a now foreign world to get back to where she belongs."
So yeah: part road movie, part survival story, with a synthetic hero at the center. It is Johnson’s first time fronting a pure sci-fi action scenario, as opposed to superhero-adjacent stuff.
Who is making it (and how it is being packaged)
- Director: Angus MacLane, a longtime Pixar hand best known for Lightyear and work on Finding Dory, stepping into this live-action sci-fi lane
- Writer: Evan Twohy
- Producers: Dakota Johnson through her TeaTime Pictures banner, Alex Saks for Saks Picture Company, Ro Donnelly, and Samantha Racanelli
- Status: No distributor yet; it launched at the American Film Market
- Sales: CAA Media Finance is handling domestic rights; Legendary’s 193 company is overseeing international sales
Where Johnson is coming from (and what is next)
Johnson has been busy toggling between star vehicles and producing. She recently appeared in A24’s romantic comedy Materialists, sharing top billing with Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal. She also co-starred in (and produced) the comedy Splitsville with Adria Arjona.
Up next, she is in the psychological thriller Verity, adapted from Colleen Hoover’s 2018 novel, opposite Anne Hathaway and Josh Hartnett.