While Netflix is primarily known for its exciting series — its number of original shows has jumped from zero three years ago to an impressive 55 today — the streaming service is also starting to branch out into feature films . The first, " Beasts of No Nation" starring Idris Elba and directed by "True Detective" director Cary Fukunaga, debuted on the site last October. Although only one film has premiered since then - the Adam Sandler comedy The Ridiculous Six - Netflix still has a slew of movies set to premiere in 2016, including the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel Blue Dragon , Brad Pitt comedy War Machine and Christopher Guest mockumentary mascot . Now, there's one more addition to the list: "Arq ," a sci-fi thriller starring Rachael Taylor, The Hollywood Reporter announced Wednesday.
There's a lot of stuff that sounds exciting for Arq ... and not just on Netflix, which also has Orange Is the New Black, Daredevil, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Making Murder and "Master of None " and various other critically acclaimed works. And its cast: Rachael Taylor, who's been looking for a long-term project after previous shows like "Charlie's Angels," "666 Park Avenue" and "Crisis" ended — and now , which has two projects lined up with Netflix's Jessica Jones — along with her co-star Robbie Amell of The Flash fame.
And then there's the film's writer/director Tony Elliot, who has brought some of the best science fiction to our television screens as a writer and story editor on BBC America's Orphan Black . Finally, there's the plot itself, which sounds like a crazy hodgepodge of sci-fi thriller, post-apocalyptic drama, and home-invasion horror, with a dash of Groundhog Day weirdness thrown in for good measure. According to THR , here's the official synopsis:
Arq is a post-apocalyptic thriller set in the near future when oil supplies have dried up. Trapped in a house surrounded by a mysterious group of masked intruders, an engineer must protect a technology that could provide unlimited energy and end wars. Already devoured the world. The only problem is, the technology creates a time loop that forces him and his friends to relive the same day over and over again.
While this all sounds exciting, there's probably one question on every Jessica Jones fan's mind - what does this news mean for Taylor's future in the Marvel franchise?
The first season of "Jessica Jones" premiered in November 2015, and the show filmed from February to July of that year (or August if you include reshoots and other post-production work). If Netflix's just-announced second season of "Jessica Jones" follows the pattern of its previous "Daredevil," which was released 11 months apart, a new batch of episodes could launch in October 2016. If that's the case, filming may have to start soon in order to meet the deadline. However, THR reports that filming on "Arq" will begin "this winter," sometime in the next few months. Taylor can't do movies and TV shows at the same time very well, can she?
Don't worry, though: Neither Taylor nor her character, Tracy Walker, are leaving Jessica Jones anytime soon. The actress herself has already confirmed that she'll be returning for Season 2 - considering Season 1 spent a lot of time teasing Trish's potential transformation into the character's alter ego Hellcat from the Marvel Comics. Well, that means we may have to wait for the next round of Jessica Jones , as filming won't begin until Taylor wraps up Arq .
This isn't surprising considering the timing of the show's renewal. While the team on "Daredevil" quickly began work on a second season after Netflix announced it had been renewed for a second season just 11 days after its premiere, it took Netflix more than eight weeks to announce the renewal of "Jesse". Carl Jones . Unlike Daredevil , the lost time may mean we won't actually get a second season until after the first.
But filming has begun on the first season of Luke Cage , Netflix’s other Marvel series that’s most associated with Jessica Jones thanks to Mike Colter’s cheeky hero. Close, it's entirely possible that Taylor may have filmed a super-secret cameo on the show — just like Rosario Dawson showed up in the Jessica Jones season 1 finale after starring in Daredevil brings the same surprise to the audience. We'll know when the series ends later this year.
At the same time, the second season of "Daredevil" is also worth looking forward to and will premiere on March 18.
Photo credit: Myles Aronowitz/Netflix; Jiffy
