Benedict Cumberbatch, recently seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Mark Strong (Kingsman) are set to join Jodie Comer (Free Guy, Killing Eve) in the apocalyptic thriller The End We Start From. Both actors are also attached as executive producers, with Mahalia Belo directing.

Also just confirmed for the cast are Joel Fry (Cruella, Yesterday), Gina McKee (My Policeman, Line Of Duty) and Nina Sosanya (Screw, His Dark Materials), joining the previously-announced Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts). The End We Start From is based on the novel by Megan Hunter and adapted from Normal People and Succession scribe Alice Birch.

The upcoming film is billed as a powerful, hopeful story about the trials and joys of new motherhood, set against a landscape of devastating floods that swallow up the city of London. Other than Comer in the lead role as mother, it remains unclear who each of the cast will play.

The novel’s synopsis gives a little more to go on, elaborating that: “In the midst of a mysterious environmental crisis, as London is submerged below flood waters, a woman gives birth to her first child, Z. Days later, the family are forced to leave their home in search of safety. As they move from place to place, shelter to shelter, their journey traces both fear and wonder as Z’s small fists grasp at the things he sees, as he grows and stretches, thriving and content against all the odds.”

The recent casting news was accompanied by a first-look image of the Comer in the lead role, as principal photography has now begun on the title. See it below: