'Annihilation' Trailer Is 'Prometheus' meets 'Ex Machina'

A brave group of scientists will enter a mysterious world that refuses to obey the laws of science as we know it in Annihilation. Adapted and directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina, 28 Days Later…), Annihilation got its first official trailer on Wednesday and looks equal parts stunning, surreal, and disturbing.

Based on Jeff VanderMeer’s award-winning 2014 novel of the same name, Annihilation follows the story of a team of four women scientists (a biologist, a psychologist, an anthropologist, and a surveyor) who journey into a place only known as “Area X.” They are the 12th group to enter the area in an attempt to understand what’s going on within it — the other expeditions have been plagued by suicides, strange disappearances, mental trauma, and diseases such as aggressive forms of cancer.

Annihilation stars Natalie Portman (The Biologist), Oscar Isaac (The Biologist’s Husband), Gina Rodriguez (Anya Thorensen), Tessa Thompson (The Surveyor), and Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Psychologist).

VanderMeer’s book is the first in the Southern Reach Trilogy, a wildly popular series of books that could result in a cash-grabbing movie universe. Annihilation alone won the 2014 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 2014 Shirley Jackson Award for best novel.

Garland, though, known for off-kilter, fantastically popular science fiction films, has exclusively said he doesn’t plan on continuing the story after the first film. As of right now, Annihilation is a standalone movie through and through.

Annihilation premieres in theaters on February 23, 2018.

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