James McAvoy joins "exceptional" cast of "wonderfully original" British comedy

James McAvoy has joined the cast of upcoming sci-fi AI comedy movie Almost You, alongside Juno Temple and Joey King.

The film, set to be directed by Ted Lasso's Matt Lipsey and currently filming in Glasgow, follows Phoebe, a robotics engineer who's struggling to come to terms with the death of her younger sister, Edie.

Despite the rules and regulations of the tech company she works for, Phoebe creates a lifelike AI replica of her deceased sister, using years of social media and video footage to bring a version of her back to life.

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While she's initially comforted by her creation's presence, she's eventually met with a huge dilemma over her decision: if you could bring someone back, should you?

King took to Instagram to celebrate the film's announcement, posting an image of an article and captioning the post: "Unbelievable to be next to these two and to be part of this film"

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In the film's official announcement, Lipsey declared: “There’s never been a movie that needed to be made more than this one.”

“We thought we were making a film about the future," he continued. "It turns out it’s about right now. Juno, Joey and James will make you laugh, then break your heart, then make you laugh about it.”

Speaking on behalf of Bankside Films, who is handling sales of the movie, Stephen Kelliher said: "We are incredibly excited to be working with Matt Lipsey and this exceptional cast on Almost You.

"Combining a wonderfully original premise with genuine emotional depth and humour, the film explores the very human desire to hold on to the people we love, in a world where technology increasingly challenges the boundaries of what is possible.

"It is a funny, moving and thought-provoking story which we believe will resonate strongly with audiences around the world."

The film will also reunite McAvoy with Danny Page, who acted as the producer on his directorial debut California Schemin’, a biographical film that focused on Scottish rap duo Silibil N' Brains, which was recently released in America.

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