Two Marvel stars are joining the cast of Apple TV’s next sci-fi thriller.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ Vanessa Kirby and Wonder Man‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II have landed their next starring roles in an action film called Liminal on Apple TV, according to Deadline.
Louis Leterrier, whose credits include Fast X, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Lupin, Now You See Me, and the upcoming Fast Forever, will direct the movie. On board as screenwriter is Terminator: Dark Fate‘s Justin Rhodes, with Zach Studin, Kevin Walsh, Ray Angelic, J. Michael Straczynski, Steve Epting, Brian Reber, Patrick McNamara, and Juliet Kirby serving as producers.
Liminal will be an adaptation of Straczynski, Epting, and Reber’s graphic novel Telepaths. The story centers around an electromagnetic disturbance that causes 10% of the population to become telepathic. This sets off a series of dramatic and shocking incidents in which law enforcement in Boston attempts to contain a newly telepathic faction.
Kirby made her debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Sue Storm in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. After its 2025 theatrical release, the film grossed $521 million at the box office and earned a Certified Fresh score of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. The role earned Kirby a nomination at the Saturn Awards.
Outside of Marvel, the actor has also starred in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Hobbs & Shaw, Pieces of a Woman (which landed her Golden Globe and SAG nods), Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. On the small screen, she won a BAFTA, and was nominated at the SAG Awards and Emmys, for playing Princess Margaret on the hit Netflix series The Crown.
Abdul-Mateen II, meanwhile, has starred in several franchise films like Aquaman, The Matrix Resurrections and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and also appeared in The Greatest Showman, Us, and Candyman.
After his leading role in HBO’s 2019 Watchmen series, he returned to the small screen this year in Marvel’s Wonder Man, which introduced the character of Simon Williams in the MCU. Simon is an actor trying to hide his superpowers since the Doorman Clause prevents someone like him from working in the entertainment industry. The series also brought back Ben Kingsley to reprise his MCU character Trevor Slattery.
Instead of a weekly release, Disney+ dropped all eight episodes at once on the streaming platform in January. After landing strong Rotten Tomatoes ratings (91% from critics and 87% from audiences), the studio recently announced it was renewing Wonder Man for season 2.
Before the Marvel star begins working on Liminal, which doesn’t have a release date yet, Abdul-Mateen II can next be seen starring in a remake of Denzel Washington’s Man on Fire, which arrives on Netflix on April 30, 2026.