Amazon’s upcoming thriller series The Power has suffered a major blow, as its two stars Leslie Mann and Tim Robbins have left the show. The two roles will now be recast, but it marks another setback for a project that has spent years in limbo.
Mann was originally cast all the way back in October 2019 – pre-COVID! – yet production still hasn’t begun. She was originally cast opposite Rainn Wilson, but when he left due to scheduling issues last January, Robbins stepped in. Now, both have left, and The Power is no closer to beginning filming.
The show is an adaptation of Naomi Alderman‘s feminist novel of the same name, who is writing the show herself alongside an all-female writer’s room. A sci-fi thriller set in current times, it follows the story of a group of teenage girls from all over the world who are suddenly gifted with the superhuman ability to electrocute people using just their fingers.
As the teenagers begin to discover the hereditary backgrounds of their new life-altering abilities, the story sees a huge power shift take place as women begin to replace men in positions of power all over the world.
Mann was cast as Margot Cleary-Lopez, the Mayor of Seattle, who tries to uphold the public’s view of what a good Mayor, wife, and mother of three looks like, all while burying some life-destroying secrets. Robbins was set to play Daniel Dandon, a Republican Governor stuck in his ways and happy to be there, and Cleary-Lopez’s rival.
The show sounds a little like The Handmaid’s Tale, which is probably part of the appeal for Amazon. They’ve even got Reed Morano, who helmed the first three episodes of that show and nabbed Emmy and Directors Guild Awards for her work, to direct The Power. But The Handmaid’s Tale didn’t have this fraught of a pre-production history.
Now we’ll wait and see who replaces Mann and Robbins. The series has plenty of intrigue to it and should be able to attract some big names, but its frustrating, drawn-out process might put some actors off.
#Peace.Love.ThePower
