Yahoo News Chris Hemsworth scientifically engineers a love match for Miles Teller in clip from Spiderhead
Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski is currently flying high with the success of his Tom Cruise-starring action sequel, but the filmmaker is not resting on his laurels. Kosinski's next movie is a science-fiction thriller called Spiderhead, which will premiere on Netflix June 17.
Spiderhead stars Chris Hemsworth as Steve Abnesti, a scientist who tests drugs on convicts at a remote, state-of-the-art penitentiary. The twist: The drugs dramatically alter the moods and abilities of the inmates. The problem: Not all of the emotions enhanced by Abnesti's experiments are positive ones.
"He is the genius visionary behind the whole Spiderhead program," Kosinski says of Hemsworth's character. "He has noble intentions, but there are some darker things lurking underneath the surface with him."
Netflix Chris Hemsworth as Abnesti, Miles Teller as Jeff and Mark Paguio as Verlaine in 'Spiderhead'
The prisoners include Jeff, played by Kosinski's Top Gun: Maverick costar Miles Teller.
"He's a guy that's grappling with a mistake he made in his past and trying to figure out how to move beyond it," says Kosinski, who also teamed with Teller on 2017's Only the Brave.
"Jeff works closely with, and sort of forms a friendship with, Abnesti," says Teller. "I wanted to portray that sense of trust in the beginning to help show that there's a real earnestness and sincerity on Abnesti's part toward helping everybody. He has a soft spot for Jeff, and I think their dynamic is really entertaining to watch."
Former Lovecraft Country star Jurnee Smollett plays another inmate, Lizzy.
"She has a more mysterious past," says the director. "She is drawn to Jeff, and they have a very close relationship, but where he wears his heart on his sleeve, she hides her pain with a cheerful persona."
Written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (whose credits include Zombieland and Deadpool), Spiderhead is based on George Saunders' 2010 New Yorker short story "Escape from Spiderhead."
Watch a clip from Spiderhead, released as part of Netflix's Geeked Week, below.
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