Julia Roberts to reunite with Denzel Washington for Leave the World Behind

Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington will reunite onscreen for the first time in nearly 30 years for Netflix movie Leave the World Behind.

The Oscar-winning actors, who last co-starred with each other in 1993 legal thriller The Pelican Brief, will lead the cast of the feature adaptation of Rumaan Alam's upcoming novel, which is set to be released in the autumn by HarperCollins publishing imprint Ecco.

According to Deadline, the story follows a white family whose vacation is interrupted when the Black middle-aged couple who own the holiday home they are renting arrive following a blackout in the city. When the internet, television, phones and radio stop working, they have no way of finding out an explanation for the strange events occurring outside. The physical and mental health of the families begins to disintegrate, and their clashes become distractions to the more alarming things happening all around them.

Roberts will play the mother of the family that rents the house, while Washington will play the homeowner.

The project will also serve as a reunion for Roberts and Sam Esmail, who will direct from his own screenplay. They previously worked together when the Pretty Woman actress starred in the first season of the Amazon drama series Homecoming, which Esmail co-created, directed, and produced.

Roberts will also produce via her Red Om Films banner, alongside Washington, Esmail, Alam, and Chad Hamilton.

According to the publication, Netflix officials won the world rights to Leave the World Behind after a vigorous bidding war which reportedly involved 10 offers. In the final stage of the bidding battle, it came down to Netflix, rival streaming service Apple, and movie studio MGM.