Alicia Vikander Joins Tom Hanks In James Ponsoldt's 'Circle'

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Fresh off of playing a wily AI in Ex Machina, Alicia Vikander has signed on for another high-tech thriller. She's joining Tom Hanks in The Circle, James Ponsoldt's upcoming adaptation of Dave Eggers' 2013 novel. More details on the Alicia Vikander Circle casting after the jump.

The Circle has been in development since December, when Hanks signed on to co-star and produce through his Playtone banner. Also on board as producers are Anthony Bregman (Foxcatcher), Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald (Flight), and Hanks' Playtone partner Gary Goetzman.

But it's Vikander who'll play the protagonist, a young woman who lands a job at a cutting-edge tech company called the Circle. Hanks will play the Circle's charismatic co-owner. The synopsis for the book reads as follows (via Amazon):

When Mae Holland is hired to work for the Circle, the world's most powerful internet company, she feels she's been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The Circle, run out of a sprawling California campus, links users' personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency. As Mae tours the open-plan office spaces, the towering glass dining facilities, the cozy dorms for those who spend nights at work, she is thrilled with the company's modernity and activity. There are parties that last through the night, there are famous musicians playing on the lawn, there are athletic activities and clubs and brunches, and even an aquarium of rare fish retrieved from the Marianas Trench by the CEO. Mae can't believe her luck, her great fortune to work for the most influential company in the world—even as life beyond the campus grows distant, even as a strange encounter with a colleague leaves her shaken, even as her role at the Circle becomes increasingly public. What begins as the captivating story of one woman's ambition and idealism soon becomes a heart-racing novel of suspense, raising questions about memory, history, privacy, democracy, and the limits of human knowledge.

The premise sounds every bit as chilling and relevant as Ex Machina did, though it approaches our fears about the future from an entirely different angle. And the involvement of two still-rising stars (Ponsoldt and Vikander) and one established one (Hanks) certainly seems promising.

Vikander has been on the rise in Hollywood since 2012's A Royal Affair. This year, she's downright ubiquitous: she's already popped up in Son of a Gun, Seventh Son, and Ex Machina, and has Testament of Youth, Man From U.N.C.L.E., Adam Jones, The Danish Girl, The Light Between Oceans, Tulip Fever due out in the next several months.

Ponsoldt last directed the David Foster Wallace biopic The End of the Tour, which debuted at this year's Sundance to rave reviews. It'll get a theatrical rollout this summer. His previous credits include the excellent indie dramas The Spectacular Now, Smashed, and Off the Black.