Anya Taylor-Joy’s 128-Minute Sci-Fi Thriller Becomes One of Apple TV’s Biggest Movies Ever

Anya Taylor-Joy has had a benchmark year in 2026 with new movies and TV shows, but she's not done yet, as she's been tapped to star in one of the biggest sci-fi movies of the year. Taylor-Joy reprised her role as Princess Peach in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which was the first feature film of 2026 to reach $1 billion at the global box office. She also made her long-awaited return to TV in Lucky, the Apple TV crime thriller co-starring Timothy Olyphant that scored solid reviews from critics and fans throughout its first season. Taylor-Joy previously starred in one of the most-watched Netflix shows of all time in The Queen's Gambit, and she returned to the platform in October to star opposite Chris Evans in Sacrifice. Taylor-Joy's future is also looking bright, with roles in the imminent Dune: Part Three as well as the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.

Apple TV has a reputation for nabbing big-time stars like Anya Taylor-Joy for its biggest projects, but this isn't the first time she's worked with the platform. Last year on Valentine's Day, the same day that Captain America: Brave New World hit theaters, Taylor-Joy teamed with Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick) to star in The Gorge, the sci-fi thriller that's become an all-time streaming hit. As multiple new arrivals continue to fade from relevance, The Gorge has persisted on Apple TV watchlists, where it has now been in the top 10 for over 300 days in 2026. What makes this feat even more impressive is that 2026 is barely 300 days old, meaning the film has been a streaming hit for the entire year, after it was also in the top 10 for almost all of 2025.

What Is 'The Gorge' About?

In addition to Teller and Taylor-Joy, The Gorge also stars Sigourney Weaver, who is best known for her roles in sci-fi franchises like Avatar and Alien. The film was directed by Scott Derrickson, who is best known for directing the first Doctor Strange movie and also both of Ethan Hawke's Black Phone films. The official synopsis for The Gorge, which holds solid marks of 62% from critics and 74% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, reads as follows:

“Two highly-trained operatives (Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy) are appointed to posts in guard towers on opposite sides of a vast and highly classified gorge, protecting the world from an undisclosed, mysterious evil that lurks within. They bond from a distance while trying to stay vigilant in defending against an unseen enemy. When the cataclysmic threat to humanity is revealed to them, they must work together in a test of both their physical and mental strength to keep the secret in the gorge before it's too late.”