Karen Gillan Joins Emma Watson in The Circle

Philip Bates is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Former Doctor Who companion, Karen Gillan will be joining stars including Harry Potter‘s Emma Watson and Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips) in sci-fi thriller, The Cirle!

An adaptation of Dave Eggers’ 2013 novel, The Cirle is an examination of Internet security and privacy, as Watson’s character, Mae Holland, goes to work for the titular Circle, a company that links users’ emails, social media, and banking into one online, accountable identity – and used for surveillance. This information is then monetised. It’s an eerie look into how much personal data we volunteer on the Internet.

Despite being seen as science fiction, the potential to abuse this privacy is a very real one: we already know Facebook alone collects masses about you – whether you’re on the social network or not! Just imagine what could be done if this data is combined with online banking, or your shopping history…

However, Eggers has said the idea isn’t based on any one company. The parallels are nonetheless creepy, and the author said:

“A lot of times I’d think of something that a company like the Circle might dream up, something a little creepy, and then I’d read about the exact invention, or even something more extreme, the next day. It happened with the names of some of the software and system features, too. I had to change a few names when I realized they already existed. But in general, I tried to write a book that wasn’t so much about the technology itself, but more about its implications for our sense of humanity and balance.”

Karen’s character is described as a “goofy but intelligent” employee of The Circle.

On Twitter, she said she was “very excited about joining this amazing team”.

Also starring John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), and directed by James Ponsoldt (The End of the Tour), The Circle is expected to be released next year.

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