Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission.

Fear the Walking Dead star Maggie Grace teases season 4: 'It plays with time in different ways'

The former Lost star currently stars in new thriller The Hurricane Heist

Jacob Stolworthy

Saturday 07 April 2018 13:51 BST

The Hurricane Heist- trailer

Maggie Grace has teased new episodes of spinoff series Fear the Walking Dead ahead of the addition of Lennie James' Walking Dead character, Morgan Jones.

The actor - best known for her role of Shannon Rutherford in Lost and Liam Neeson's kidnapped daughter Kim Mills in 2008 film Taken - has been added to the cast of the new series alongside James and Garrett Hedlund joining original cast members Kim Dickens, Frank Dillane and Alycia Debnam Carey.

While remaining tight-lipped on key plot points surrounding forthcoming episodes - “they're fiercely protective even over character's last names” - Grace revealed to The Independent that the news that James was to leave The Walking Dead for the spinoff was a deciding factor into signing up to the show.

“I knew before I signed on that it was him - I'm not going to say how - but he was part of the reason that I wanted to jump on. I think what they’re doing with the character is really interesting - I'm glad so much of our work is together.”

She confirmed that the producers were in the process of “creating a Walking Dead universe where anything can happen,” adding: “I think what they're doing with time is really interesting - they’re playing with it in really different ways. I can’t say any more.”

Grace currently stars in The Hurricane Heist, a thriller following a team of mercenaries who attempt to pull off a robbery in the midst of a Category 5 hurricane, alongside Toby Kebbel and Ryan Kwanten. Speaking of the film's high-concept plotline, she said: “Why do one action movie where you can do all the action movies blended into one?”

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

Show all 14

1/14Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

1. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Kicking us off is Phil Lord and Christopher Mille’s bizarre animated film about a scientist who creates a machine that transforms water into food. So far, not too crazy, but then the machine gets stuck in the sky and it starts raining food. Everything goes wrong and Flint Lockwood must save the day by flying up to the machine and kicking fried chicken butt. Yeah, a pretty crazy premise, but a fantastic film.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

2. Frank

Michael Fassbender may be one of the most bankable stars of the moment - having starred in the likes of Steve Jobs, X-Men and Macbeth - but in 2014, instead of flaunting his face, producers decided to make him wear a weird papier-mâché mask for the film’s near entirety. The plot see’s Fassbender’s titular character front a rock band, play SXSW and make ‘likeable’ music. It’s all just a bit strange.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

3. Groundhog Day

Almost anything with Bill Murray in it is a win in my book, but when you say the premise of Ground Hog day out loud - a weatherman who must relive the same day over and over again - it sounds quite boring. What transpired was one of Murray’s funniest films.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

4. Star Wars

With Star Wars being so prevalent in pop-culture, it’s hard to imagine a time when no-one except George Lucas knew what a Lightsaber was. Producers must have been shocked when this young director came into the office trying to sell a script about Luke Skywalker, R2D2, Darth Vader, Chewbacca and Stormtroopers. Thankfully, they believed in his vision and now we have one of the best sci-fi sagas of all time.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

5. Incepetion

A dream, within a dream, within a dream. Even those who watched Inception were left confused, let alone those who only heard what the film was about. Christopher Nolan’s final flick, however, was a masterclass in storytelling and one of the best films of the last ten years.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

6. Speed

The high-concept Speed is quite ridiculous really. Keanu Reeves can’t let a bus go below 50 miles per hour or it will blow up. It’s quite amazing how Jan de Bont managed to make his debut 116 minutes long in the first place, let alone making it a decent film in the process.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

7. Edward Scissorhands

Tim Burton is a director who could fill this entire list up. While he may have chosen to reboot numerous films in the past few years (Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the upcoming Dumbo 2) it was his original concepts that set him apart from everyone else. In Burton’s head, the love story of a man with scissors for hands and a young woman made complete sense, while for everyone else - from just the premise - it seemed entirely weird. Luckily, he was given the opportunity to make the film and a cult classic was born, all while Johnny Depp’s ability to play the outsider was solidified.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

8. Mrs Doubtfire

Post-Hook and Aladdin, Robin Williams was on a role. One of his standout performances was as Mrs. Doubtfire, the father-turned-drag-housekeeper. As a premise, dressing your lead male as a woman wasn’t exactly new (see Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie), so the filmmakers ran the risk of it all seeming like an overdone joke. Luckily, Chris Columbus managed to pull off the ridiculous plot (how wouldn’t the kids know it’s their father, really?) leading to one of the funniest films of the 90s.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

9. The Lobster

Like Burton, most of Yorgos Lanthimos’s films could probably feature on this page, but we’ve gone with The Lobster. The film tells of a hotel where residents must find a suitable partner within 45 days otherwise they will be turned into an animal. Try to run away and the other residents will hunt you down with tranquillisers. The result was one of the best love stories of 2015.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

10. Ant-Man

Some comic book superheroes should not be adapted to the big screen (*cough* Howard the Duck *cough*). Ant-Man is not one of them. Against all the odds, Paul Rudd and Peyton Reed managed to make a compelling film about a man who could shrink down in size and control ants. What’s incredible is that - somehow - the film quickly became one of Marvel’s most beloved films. Of course, everyone knew Marvel could pull off weird, having knocked it out of the park with Guardians of the Galaxy the year before.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

11. Beetlejuice

Two ghosts living in their old home want to scare away the alive people who now live there. Unfortunately, the new home-owners can’t see them and so the ghosts have to call upon a deranged Michael Keaton to help them out. Add one of the strangest afterlife scenes in film history and you’ve got a brilliant film.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

12. Forrest Gump

While not an obvious contender like Star Wars or Beetlejuice, when you think about it, Forrest Gump is a weird idea. A below-average intelligent man, sitting on a bench, waiting for a bus, telling strangers about all the famous moments in history where he observed/effected. Thanks to Tom Hanks, Gump was a magical film of love and hope, winning over the hearts of thousands and becoming an instant classic.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

13. The Lego Movie

Another film from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, The Lego Movie shouldn’t have worked. Making a beloved toy into a film; it was all just a bit silly. Thankfully, Chris Pratt’s turn as Emmett (and a catchy song in “Everything is Awesome”) the film was a huge hit with critics and fans alike, and now we have a cinematic universe of Lego movies to come. Awesome?

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

14. I’m Not There

“Let’s get Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw to all play Bob Dylan in a single film”, Todd Haynes said. While you would think that would be overkill, the result was stunning, with Dylan himself eventually praising the film in 2012.

She admitted that she's “grown” into the roles as her career has progressed.

“I was definitely a nerdy Jane Austen kind of girl who got picked last for the gym class and somehow now…,” she begins. “I've definitely grown to love the physical side of things but it’s certainly ironic. I hadn’t seen so many of the classic action films until I started making them - then having to go back and watch them because there’are so many homage moments. It's like, 'Oh, this is a homage to action Eighties canon! They didn’t cover this in Middlemarch.'"

The Hurricane Heist in cinemas now. Fear the Walking Dead returns to AMC on 15 April and will be available to view in the UK on AMC, BT TV on 23 April.

Are you a longtime fan of Lost? Or looking for a new series to start? Subscribe to two of our writers' new podcast 'The LOST Boys' following their journey watching from the very beginning - one for the first time, the other for the eighth.

Follow Independent Culture on Facebook

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies