Karen Gillan, perhaps best known to audiences for her work in the Doctor Who, Guardians of the Galaxy and Jumanji franchises, has joined the cast of the crime thriller Sleeping Dogs.
Based on E.O. Chirovici’s 2017 novel The Book of Mirrors, Sleeping Dogs will star Academy Award winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator, The Nice Guys) as former homicide detective Roy Freeman. While undergoing "cutting-edge Alzheimer’s treatment," Freeman is forced to re-open an investigation into the brutal murder of a college professor (Marton Csokas, The Lord of the Rings, The Last Duel). Gillan will play "a magnetic and mysterious woman" who sheds new light on the mystery at hand, leading Freeman "to face a horrific reality that changes his world forever in the blink of an eye."
In addition to Crowe, Gillan, and Csokas, Sleeping Dogs will star Harry Greenwood (The Nightingale, Pieces of Her) and Thomas M. Wright (Everest, Barkskins). The writing duo of Adam Cooper and Bill Collage (Assassins Creed, Exodus: Gods and Kings) adapted the novel while Cooper, making his directorial debut, will helm the film. It will be produced by Mark Fasano (American Ultra, Haunt), Pouya Shabazian (Shadow and Bone, American Honey), and Deborah Glover (A Perfect Pairing, Five Bedrooms). Production is scheduled to commence this month in Australia. The movie is currently being shopped to potential distributors at EFM (the European Film Market) in Berlin.
The Film's Stars Are Two of Hollywood's Finest
In addition to reprising her role as 'Nebula' in the Marvel Studios' Thor: Love and Thunder and The Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special, 2022 saw Gillan star in the dark comedy Dual, opposite Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul; the showbiz satire The Bubble, from director Judd Apatow; and the sci-fi drama Next Exit. She'll play Nebula once again in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is slated for release on May 5. She also stars in the upcoming comedic drama Late Bloomers, which will make its debut at South by Southwest next month.
Crowe, incidentally, also appeared in Thor: Love and Thunder last year, in the role of Zeus. He can currently be seen in the thriller Poker Face (not to be confused with the new hit show starring Natasha Lyonne), which he also directed and co-wrote. The Australian actor has a myriad of projects in various states of production, including Sony's Spider-Man adjacent Kraven the Hunter, opposite Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Bullet Train, Tenet) in the title role, and the horror film The Pope's Exorcist, from director Julius Avery (Overlord, Samaritan).
Stay tuned to Collider for more information on Sleeping Dogs. In the meantime, check out Collider's interview with Gillan below: