John Boyega Joins Tom Hanks In The Circle

From the backstreets of London battling evil alien invaders to the distant reaches of a galaxy far, far away where… he presumably does the same, John Boyega will next embark on a more grounded mission in The Circle. The Brit actor is the newest cast member to board the Dave Eggers adaptation, joining Hollywood heavyweight Tom Hanks and former Harry Potter alum Emma Watson for the Black Mirror-esque fable.

James Ponsoldt directs and scripts the film, which tells of an Internet conglomerate called The Circle which provides a progressive leap forward in the realm of digital identity. Instead of people amassing countless online personas, The Circle develops a one-size-fits-all system wherein citizens have only one online identity. Social media, banking, e-mail, messaging and shopping all converge into a single account that ushers in “a new age of civility and transparency.”

Boyega plays Ty, described as “the iconized boy-wonder visionary of the Circle” who embarks on a relationship with one of his employees (Watson) as the “perils of life in a digital age inevitably arise.” Hanks, meanwhile, oversees the entire corporation as a wizened figurehead of sorts, who engages Watson’s youngster and no doubt will encounter Boyega’s character at the workplace.

Before cameras roll on The Circle, Boyega heads for worldwide superstardom thanks to his role in the upcoming Christmas release Star Wars: The Force Awakens. While the big opportunities will no doubt open up considerably after that point, the future’s still looking mighty rosy for the young actor.