Zoe Kravitz has cast Naomi Ackie in the lead role of her directorial debut.

The British actress has signed on to join Channing Tatum in Pussy Island, which has secured the first major deal of the Cannes Virtual market for MGM.

Ackie will play a young Los Angeles cocktail waitress named Frida who manoeuvres her way into philanthropist and tech mogul Slater King’s inner circle and gets invited to his private island for an intimate gathering, where she discovers “something terrifying”.

Kravitz has co-written the film with E.T. Feigenbaum. She and Tatum, who will play Slater, are among the producers.

“I am honoured to be partnering with an iconic studio such as MGM for this project,” Zoe said in a statement, reports Deadline. “Their commitment to the art of storytelling is something that I truly admire and respect. Naomi Ackie is an extraordinary talent and we can’t wait to see her bring this role to life.”

Michael De Luca, MGM’s Film Group chairman, and Pamela Abdy, MGM’s Film Group president, added, “We are incredibly excited to be part of Zoe’s directorial debut. This is a timely and insightful thriller, with a biting humour that we anticipate audiences will be utterly captivated by. Pussy Island is going to be an epic beginning to Zoe’s directing career.”

Ackie starred in the second season of Netflix’s The End of the F**king World and J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. She will portray tragic singer Whitney Houston in upcoming Sony biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

Pussy Island will begin production early next year on an undisclosed tropical island.

– Cover Media