Kirsten Dunst and Joel Edgerton join Michael Shannon in Jeff Nichols' sci-fi chase movie

By Mike Vago | August 13, 2013 | 4:00pm

Aux Features Film

We already knew about the ongoing cinematic love affair between director Jeff Nichols and actor Michael Shannon, whom he directed in Take Shelter and Shotgun Stories. As we noted, the two have another collaboration on the way, Midnight Special, which Nichols (who also wrote the script) describes as a sci-fi chase movie. And this time they'll be sharing the love with both Kirsten Dunst—who could stand to spend some time in a more cheerful sci-fi movie than Melancholia—and Joel Edgerton, who have joined in as-yet-unspecified roles.

The story concerns a father who discovers his 8-year-old son has supernatural powers, then has to protect the boy from his enemies. While the details stop there, presumably those enemies include Ethan, who keeps trying to pour milk onto the kid's lunch tray despite repeated entreaties to stop, and Kaia, who alleges that, among the supernatural powers the boy possesses, he has super-powerful cooties. And you can likely expect some degree of collusion between these villains, as Ethan and Kaia were reportedly seen conferring in a tree and, if rumors can be believed, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.