Continuing with the pop culture standard of post-apocalyptic dystopias, the adaptation of Mrs. Brisby and the Rats of NIMH author Robert C. O'Brien's 1974 novel Z for Zachariah - announced last year and to be helmed by Compliance director Craig Zobel - has added some prominent names to its cast.

The novel centers on a young woman who believes herself to be the last human in a post-apocalyptic future. She eventually meets another survivor, a scientist to be played by Tobey Maguire, who is also producing via his Material Pictures shingle. The BBC previously adapted the book for television in 1984.

Now, Coming Soon reports that three new cast members are joining Maguire. Namely, alternate timeline Captain Kirk himself, Chris Pine, Children of Men's Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Big Love's Amanda Seyfried. No word yet on what characters they will portray, but given Seyfried's name as the only female cast member so far, she could be playing the previously mentioned lone survivor.

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Director Craig Zobel is a well-regarded name in independent film, having co-produced David Gordon Green's debut feature George Washington. 2012's Compliance is a fascinating and disturbing exploration of positions of authority and the extent to which they can influence our behavior, sometimes past the point of appropriate responses. On the surface, Z for Zachariah sounds outside Zobel's wheelhouse, but he has proven himself to be an intelligent, focused filmmaker with an arresting visual style.

The post-apocalyptic future society (or lack thereof) has always been a popular theme in movies (Book of Eli and A Boy and His Dog), television (Revolution, The Walking Dead), novels of all kinds (from Richard Matheson's original I Am Legend to Stephen King's The Stand) and even video games (the Fallout series). At this point, we've almost seen it all. Time will tell whether or not Zobel can bring anything fresh to the genre, but after viewing Compliance, (which is currently streaming on Netflix), I'd wager you'd feel that if anyone could help reinvent this type of film, it would be him.

More on the development of Z for Zachariah as details emerge.

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Source: Coming Soon