Jacob Elordi’s performance in The Narrow Road Into the Deep North earned a last-minute shift onto the Primetime Emmy ballot, positioning the five-part Australian drama against heavyweight contenders in limited-series categories. Sony Pictures Television and Prime Video submitted the show just before the Television Academy’s May 8 deadline, moving it from the International branch into contention for Best Limited or Anthology Series, Lead Actor (Elordi), Directing (Justin Kurzel) and Writing (Shaun Grant).
Adapted from Richard Flanagan’s Booker Prize–winning novel, The Narrow Road Into the Deep North follows an Australian surgeon before and after World War II. Elordi portrays the younger version of a doctor whose POW experience is haunted by memories of a wartime affair (Odessa Young) and revisited decades later by Ciarán Hinds. Since its April 18 release on Prime Video, the series has achieved a perfect Rotten Tomatoes rating, edging past Netflix’s British import Adolescence.
Sony and Prime Video will host a For Your Consideration screening and panel on June 4 featuring Elordi and Kurzel, ahead of Emmy nomination voting from June 12–23. Elordi’s upcoming roles include the creature in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights and a lead turn in Ridley Scott’s Dog Stars.
Across town at the Cannes Film Festival market, Elordi has signed on to star alongside Lily-Rose Depp in Outer Dark, an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s 1968 novel. Son of Saul director László Nemes makes his English-language debut, scripting with Clara Royer and producing with Mike Goodridge of Good Chaos.
Set in Appalachian backroads during the Great Depression, Outer Dark unspools the tale of a sister who searches for her newborn nephew abandoned by his father and stalked by three sinister strangers. Nemes described the project as “a terrible and beautiful road-movie into the human soul,” adding that Elordi and Depp bring “magnetic intensity” to roles rooted in McCarthy’s stark vision.
Financing talks are under way in Cannes, led by Goodridge and supported by executive producers Ilene Feldman, Ori Eisen of Original Films and Nicolas Gonda. Though not formally on sale, the project has sparked early interest from international backers drawn to its literary pedigree and high-profile cast.
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Nemes, fresh from his third feature Orphan, is developing a French-language WWII drama about resistance fighter Jean Moulin and remains active in festival markets. Depp arrives on the heels of Oscar buzz for Nosferatu, her second collaboration with Gothic material, while Elordi’s star continues to rise following his Emmy push.
Casting and production details for Outer Dark are expected to solidify later this year, with principal photography slated for 2026. The project marks a significant move for McCarthy adaptations, following successes such as No Country for Old Men and The Road.
