Riley Stearns, the director of Faults and The Art of Self-Defense, is set to make a satirical sci-fi thriller – and he’s lined-up an interesting cast. In Stearns’ upcoming Dual, a woman who undergoes a cloning procedure – and lives to regret it. The film will star Karen Gillan and Aaron Paul, with Jesse Eisenberg set to make “an appearance.”

How’s this for a premise: in Dual, “After receiving a terminal diagnosis, a woman (Karen Gillan) opts for a cloning procedure to ease her loss on her friends and family. When she makes a miraculous recovery, her attempts to have her clone decommissioned fail and lead to a court-mandated duel to the death.” What a premise! Would could come up with such an idea, I wonder!

Riley Stearns, director of offbeat, almost unclassifiable films Faults and The Art of Self-Defense, that’s who. In addition to Gillan, Dual will also star Aaron Paul, Beulah Koale, and Martha Kelly, and will feature an “appearance” by Jesse Eisenberg – that’s how the official press release describes Eisenberg’s part, which suggests he’s probably in one quick scene, long enough for everyone watching to point at the screen and say, “Hey, that’s Jesse Eisenberg!” Worth noting: Eisenberg starred in The Art of Self-Defense.

There’s plenty of potential here, and with Stearns’ past work in mind, it’s safe to say that things will get real dark real quick, no matter how satirical Dual might be. And casting Gillan, who continually turns in good work, is a great choice as well. No word on who the other actors are playing, but it’ll be nice to see Aaron Paul working with a potentially comedic premise, since he tends to stick to very serious dramas, or sci-fi shows like Westworld, where everything is dour (and kind of boring).

If you’ve yet to check out Stearns’ films, and want to see what he’s all about, you can stream Faults on Amazon Prime Video, and The Art of Self-Defense on Hulu and Kanopy.

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