Sasha Lane (American Honey) is set to lead the cast of Utopia, Amazon’s adaptation of the British series, written by Gone Girl author and screenwriter Gillian Flynn.

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Utopia follows a group of young adults who meet online that are mercilessly hunted by a shadowy deep state organization after they come into possession of a near-mythical cult underground graphic novel. Within the comic’s pages, they discover the conspiracy theories that may actually be real and are forced into the dangerous, unique and ironic position of saving the world.

Lane will play Jessica Hyde. Tough and feral after a life on the run from a mysterious and dangerous group, Jessica believes all the answers about her perplexing life story may be hidden in the graphic novel ‘Utopia’.

“As I’ve been writing Utopia and trying to imagine the actor who could possibly embody Jessica Hyde, Sasha Lane has constantly kicked her way into my mind,” said creator, executive producer and showrunner Flynn. “She has the shape-shifting ability to feel at once raw, unpredictable and a little unnerving while also making you want to wrap your arms around her. I couldn’t be more thrilled to have her play this utterly unique character.”

In the original Utopia series Jessica Hyde was played by Fiona O’Shaughnessy. The show, created by Dennis Kelly and produced by Endemol Shine Group’s UK production studio Kudos, premiered on Channel 4 in 2013 and ran for two seasons. It was praised for its style and visuals while also raising concerns for its violence that included a school shooting.

The Amazon adaptation is a co-production between Endemol Shine North America/Kudos and Amazon Studios. Executive producing alongside Flynn are Jessica Rhoades, Kelly, Kudos’ Karen Wilson and Diederick Santer as well as Sharon Hall. Sharon Levy, President, Unscripted & Scripted Television, Endemol Shine North America, oversees production for Endemol Shine.

Lane burst into the scene with her breakthrough first role in Andrea Arnold’s 2016 Cannes-winning American Honey. She will next be seen in Lionsgate’s Hellboy. She is repped by WME, The Long Run’s Amy BonFleur and attorney André Des Rochers.