‘Prometheus,’ ‘X-Men’ Actors Join Cast of Sam Barlow’s New Game

By Stefanie Fogel

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Indie developer Sam Barlow is working on an all-new narrative game and spiritual sequel to 2015’s “Her Story.” Called “Telling Lies,” it will be available later this year. On Friday, Barlow and publisher Annapurna Interactive revealed casting details for its live-action video components.

The main cast includes “Prometheus” and “The Invitation” actor Logan Marshall-Green, “X-Men: Apocalypse” actress Alexandra Shipp, and “The Romanoffs’” Kerry Bishé. They’re joined by “Westworld” actress Angela Sarafyan and Vivien Lyra Blair, who recently starred in the Netflix movie “Bird Box” alongside Sandra Bullock.

Where “Her Story” had players solve a mystery by watching one woman’s police interrogation, “Telling Lies” will reportedly expand on the format by including multiple characters. It will also have higher production values, new locations, and a completely new story. Filming for the game started in December and will wrap next week. Replay Collective is overseeing production of the game’s live-action components.

Barlow unveiled the new project in July 2017, describing it as a mashup of Steve McQueen’s “Shame” with Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 mystery thriller “The Conversation.” He partnered with Annapurna at a time when the publisher was looking to move into the video game space. Since then, it’s put out a number of critically-acclaimed indie titles, including “What Remains of Edith Finch,” “Florence,” and “Donut County.” Traditional video game publishers weren’t very focused on stories outside the scope of heroic and aspirational narratives, he told Variety. “The way budgets [in the video game industry] are allocated, it’s like you focus just on the blockbusters,” he said.