It came down to three names on a list. There was Emily Blunt, last seen in Rian Johnson's Looper; Rooney Mara, who was just featured in Steven Soderbergh's Side Effects and Rebecca Hall, who will soon be seen alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow in Iron Man 3. All three were being considered for the female lead in cinematographer Wally Pfister's directorial debut Transcendence, and today the decision has been made.
The Hollywood Reporter has learned from Alcon Entertainment that Hall has signed on for the sought after part in the sci-fi film. She joins Johnny Depp and Paul Bettany in the project, both of whom signed on last week. While even the most minor plot details are being kept under wraps for now, it's be said that the story is about a group of scientists experimenting with the idea of the technological singularity, the moment where a computer becomes intelligent enough to learn on its own without the need of a user. Hall will be playing Depp's character's wife, "a fellow academic."
Pfister is best known for his work on Christopher Nolan's Inception, a film that won him the Best Cinematography Academy Award. Production is aiming to start in April so that Depp can film Barry Levinson's Black Mass during the summer.
In addition to Iron Man 3, Hall also has the thriller Closed Circuit on her list of upcoming films. The movie is directed by John Crowley (Boy A) and co-stars Eric Bana, Ciaran Hinds, Jim Broadbent, and Riz Ahmed.
