Anya Taylor-Joy has returned to her spiritual home of Netflix, but it's not anywhere near as subtle or cerebral as The Queen's Gambit this time around. Taylor-Joy has rapidly become one of the biggest stars in the world, and she's now reached the stage where she can assemble her own team of stars to support her. In this one, she's even managed to recruit an Avenger for a provocative new thriller combining celebrity culture, environmental activism and an actual volcanic prophecy.
Netflix has officially been taken over by Sacrifice, showcasing Taylor-Joy in director Romain Gavras' English-language debut. Sacrifice stars Taylor-Joy as Joan, Chris Evans (Avengers: Endgame) as Mike Tyler, Vincent Cassel (Black Swan), Salma Hayek Pinault (Frida), Ambika Mod (One Day), John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich), Charli xcx (Erupcja), and newcomer Yung Lean. The film has already taken over the Top 10 spot around the world.
What Is 'Sacrifice' About?
Evans stars as Mike Tyler, a movie star whose career is in desperate need of some damage control after a humiliating public meltdown goes viral. His attempted comeback takes him to a black-tie environmental charity gala hosted by a billionaire entrepreneur, played by Cassel, and his wife, played by Hayek Pinault. And that's when Taylor-Joy crashes the party as — wait for this one — the leader of a radical group convinced they have been chosen to fulfil a volcanic prophecy and cleanse the Earth. Joan and her followers violently seize control of the gala, transforming an evening of celebrity virtue signalling into a hostage crisis.
Gavras and co-writer Will Arbery (Succession) also used that increasingly bonkers premise to take aim at celebrity culture, media spectacle, performative activism and elite hypocrisy. As the distinction between genuine faith and outright delusion began to collapse, the social satire evolved into a race against time.
Taylor-Joy and Evans have both been busy towards the end of the year in small, independent movies that have aimed to perform above expectations. Taylor-Joy will appear in Dune: Part Three, directed by upcoming filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, while Evans plays retired soldier Steven Rogers in Avengers: Doomsday, a comic book adaptation by Joe and Anthony Russo, best known for their work on comedy shows Community and Arrested Development.
Sacrifice is streaming now on Netflix in the United States and France, having arrived on October 16, 2026.
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