'1883' Star Isabel May Cast in Frightening New Thriller

Elsa Dutton is heading out of the Great Plains and into the present day. 1883 actress Isabel May is set to star opposite Jurnee Smollett in Lionsgate's upcoming thriller Sunflower. The film is directed by Lovecraft Country's Misha Green in her directorial debut from a script she wrote.

At this time, few details are known about the film, including details surrounding May and Smollett's roles. Per Deadline, in the film, "two women struggle to escape from a deranged college professor who holds them hostage on a remote sunflower farm." Lionsgate is said to be fast-tracking the movie for production. Green wrote the script and will produce alongside Craig Flores, with Meredith Wieck and Aaron Edmonds overseeing the project for Lionsgate.

"Sunflower was the first script I sold when I landed in Hollywood, and now having the opportunity to make it my first feature directorial outing feels like kismet," Green said in a statement when the film was confirmed back in January. "I couldn't have hoped for better partners and collaborators than Nathan, the Lionsgate team, Craig, and Jurnee to help me shepherd it to the big screen."

The upcoming movie will reunite Green and Smollett, who worked together on HBO Max's drama Lovecraft Country. Produced by J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot and Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw Productions, Lovecraft Country was based on Matt Ruff's novel of the same name and followed Atticus Black, who travels through 1950s Jim Crow America on a search for his father with his uncle and his friend.

"Everyone at our studio was completely drawn in by the way Misha, Jurnee, and the Lovecraft Country team worked so confidently to create a compelling genre series – then subverted the genre and reinvented it through a new lens," Nathan Kahane, President of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said of Green and Smollett's reunion. "That's the opportunity with Sunflower. The screenplay is unique, thrilling, and flat-out scary. It's going to make a hell of a movie."

May is best known for her breakout role as Elsa Dutton, the eldest daughter of James and Margaret Dutton, on 1883, Paramount+'s Yellowstone prequel. She currently reprises the part as narrator of Sheridan's follow-up Western drama 1923. She is also known for her roles in Netflix's Alexa & Katie and CBS' Young Sheldon, with her film credits including I Want You Back, The Moon & Back, Run Hide Fight and Let's Scare Julie.