Ginnifer Goodwin Cast In Episode Of Twilight Zone Reboot
The Twilight Zone just keeps getting more crowded.
Once Upon a Time's Ginnifer Goodwin has been cast in an episode of executive producer/narrator Jordan Peele's forthcoming reboot of the classic anthology series for CBS All Access. She'll star in an entry titled "Point of Origin," according to a report by Deadline.
Casting news has been flying fast and furious around the revival in recent months. Goodwin will be joining James Frain (True Detective, Gotham) and Zabryna Guevara (Castle Rock) in "Point of Origin"; additional episodes will feature the likes of John Cho (Searching), Taissa Farmiga (American Horror Story), Greg Kinnear (House of Cards), Sanaa Lathan (The Affair), Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick), Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul), Jacob Tremblay (The Predator), Luke Kirby (Glass), Alison Tolman (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), DeWanda Wise (She's Gotta Have It), Ike Barinholtz (The Oath), Jessica Williams (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald), and Steven Yuen (The Walking Dead).
As is the case with all of the announced new episodes, plot and character details are being kept under wraps. Thus far, only one entry has been announced featuring a fresh take on an original episode: "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet," a retelling of the classic "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," which starred William Shatner as an airplane passenger plagued by a wing-dwelling gremlin that only he can see. The episode previously received an update in the 1983 feature film Twilight Zone: The Movie, with the lead role filled by John Lithgow; this time around, Adam Scott (Step Brothers) will step into the part.
All of the casting news has kept excitement for the new series high, as has the involvement of Peele, who revealed himself to be a horror auteur of the highest order with the 2017 paradigm-shifting hit film Get Out. Although he was initially reluctant to follow original series creator Rod Serling as the show's onscreen narrator, his fitness for that role became wildly evident with the premiere of the first teaser trailer for the reboot, which aired during last weekend's Super Bowl. In it, viewers were seemingly being returned to the game's broadcast; suddenly, the feed appeared to break up, followed by stark white text on a black screen informing them that "CBS IS OFF THE AIR." Cut to an eerily empty Mercedes-Benz stadium, a lone figure strolling onto the field as Peele's voiceover intones: "Witness an empty space, filled with thousands of screaming people. A man, both nowhere and everywhere at the same time." Alternate versions of Peele begin to pop up in the stands as the narration continues. "Answers are new questions. The unthinkable is the expected." The mysterious figure approaches a door, standing out of place at midfield, and is then revealed to be Peele, who confronts the viewer to ask: "When truth is not the truth... what dimension are you even in?" Cue the iconic theme music.
While CBS All Access is relatively new to the streaming game, the service appears to be serious about stocking up with exciting original content. It had its first major hit last year with the debut of the first season of Star Trek: Discovery, and such offerings as the period drama Strange Angel (from executive producer Ridley Scott) and the twisty mystery One Dollar have also been well-received.
The Twilight Zone left an absolutely indelible impression on pop culture, with its influence being felt in everything from beloved '80s horror anthologies like Tales From the Darkside to modern hits such as Netflix's Black Mirror. The series has already undergone two revivals: one much-loved version which ran for three seasons between 1985 and 1989, and a less-successful reboot (for which Forest Whitaker filled the Rod Serling role) which managed only one season and aired between 2002 and 2003.
Peele's reimagining looks to be a definitive one, loaded as it is with talent both in front of and behind the camera. In addition to the horror impresario himself, producers and writers on the series include Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Apocalypse), Mathias Herndl (Wayward Pines), Gerard McMurray (The First Purge), and Greg Yaitanes, who has worked on a metric ton of iconic TV series including Lost, Heroes, House, and Alias. While the series will have no formal showrunner, CBS Executive VP of original content Julie McNamara has said that Yaitanes will be charged with "overseeing [the series'] continuity," suggesting that we may see a degree of crossover between the plot elements of certain episodes.
The casting of Goodwin may be among the last bits of news we get pertaining to the reboot, as its premiere date is swiftly approaching. Catch the first episode — "Rewind," starring Lathan in the lead role — when The Twilight Zone makes its debut on CBS All Access on April 1, 2019.