Pedro Pascal and Karen Gillan have signed up to lead the star-studded cast of Judd Apatow’s upcoming pandemic comedy The Bubble.

The Wonder Woman 1984 actor and Guardians of the Galaxy star will be joined by Borat Subsequent Moviefilm breakout star Maria Bakalova, Keegan-Michael Key, Fred Armisen, David Duchovny, Peter Serafinowicz, Apatow’s wife and frequent collaborator Leslie Mann, and their 18-year-old daughter Iris Apatow.

The Bubble is a meta-comedy about a group of actors stuck inside a pandemic bubble at a hotel attempting to complete a studio franchise film.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pascal and Gillan will play the stars of the fictional franchise while Mann and Duchovny will play a once-married acting duo now forced to quarantine under one roof.

Sources told the publication that the story was inspired by the making of Jurassic World: Dominion, the first studio blockbuster to return to filming amid the pandemic in July last year, as the cast were bubbled in a hotel for months and production had to stop and restart due to positive Covid-19 tests. However, Netflix insiders have insisted the film has no connection to that production.

The project marks Apatow’s debut feature for the streaming service and his first away from his longtime home at Universal in more than 15 years. He will be directing from a script he co-wrote with South Park’s Pam Brady and will also produce with his regular collaborator Barry Mendel.

Production on the Netflix project, which was announced on Wednesday, will begin next week, but a release date has not been confirmed yet.

Bulgarian actress Bakalova was plucked from obscurity and thrown into the limelight when she was cast as Borat’s daughter Tutar in last year’s Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. She has been nominated for a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award for her supporting role. The Bubble will mark her next Hollywood project.

– Cover Media