Director Alex Garland’s upcoming sci-fi Annihilation, starring Natalie Portman, is set to be released straight to Netflix in the UK and other territories outside North America and China.
The film, which is Garland’s highly anticipated follow-up to his Oscar-winning debut Ex Machina, is due for its US release on February 23 and will now arrive on the streaming service less than three weeks later, Deadline reports.
Paramount is handling the release of the film in the USA, Canada and China, with Netflix in control for other territories.
SEE ALSO: Watch the first trailer for Alex Garland’s Annihilation
The deal is similar to a recent agreement made between Netflix and New Line Cinema for their Shaft sequel.
Annihilation is an adaptation of the first novel in Jeff VanderMeer’s sci-fi trilogy Southern Reach and has been building buzz as a result of its director.
Garland made his directorial debut with Ex Machina, having carved out an impressive career as a writer with films including 28 Days Later, Dredd and Never Let Me Go.
The film follows Natalie Portman as a biologist who volunteers for an expedition into cordoned-off alien territory after her husband (Oscar Isaac) goes missing.
SEE ALSO: Annihilation author Jeff VanderMeer discusses Alex Garland’s movie adaptation
