James R | On 08, Dec 2017

Netflix has snapped up the sci-fi spec script Mimi from Rio.

The screenplay, which is described by Deadline as “inventive” and having “shades of Ex Machina and Children of Men”, is set in the near future. It follows two brothers from the Favelas of Rio in Brazil. They are tasked with transporting the world’s first sentient android.

The premise comes from writers Matthew K. Firpo and Ryan Firpo. They are names you may not have heard of, but you soon will have: afer a string of shorts, both fiction and non-fiction, the duo’s latest project is Ruin, a post-WWII revenge film. Produced by MadRiver Pictures, the thriller will star Gal Gadot and Justin Kurzel, both big names guaranteed to put the Firpos on the map.

Indeed, Deadline reports that the project sparked competitive bidding from multiple parties, until Netflix outbid rivals to acquire the script. The project will be produced by Bryan Unkeless (I, Tonya) through Clubhouse Pictures, alongside Ridley Scott, of Scott Free, and Kevin Walsh and Michael Pruss. Racheline Benveniste will oversee the film for Netflix.

The deal arrives as Netflix continues to throw its weight into the sci-fi genre, inking an agreement with Paramount to distribute Alex Garland’s Annihilation outside of America and debuting the trailer for its latest epic series, Altered Carbon, starring Joel Kinnaman. Duncan Jones’ Mute is also on the streaming giant’s slate for future release.

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