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Gwendoline Christie signs on for significant role in Jane Campion's revisit to the 2013 miniseries, dubbed 'China Girl.'
Confirming a year of talk and speculation, Elisabeth Moss is officially on board for a second season of Jane Campion's celebrated Top of the Lake — dubbed Top of the Lake 2: China Girl. Joining the returning star will be Game of Thrones and Star Wars: The Force Awakens actress Gwendoline Christie.
"I'm so excited to be back in Australia working with Jane on exploring this wonderful character," Moss said Monday in a statement on reprising the role of detective Robin Griffin. "I can't wait for audiences to see where we take Robin's journey."
The second season moves the action from New Zealand to Australia, picking up four years after the events of the first season when the unidentified body of an Asian girl washes up on to Sydney’s Bondi Beach. The case seems hopeless until Robin discovers that she was not the only victim.
Top of the Lake premiered in 2013 to much critical acclaim (and a Golden Globe win and Emmy nomination for Moss), but it was billed as a limited series — something echoed by the creative team. A second season was announced in 2014, but there was little word from writer-director Campion and co-scribe Gerard Lee on what (and who) it might entail.
See-Saw Films will again produce the project for BBC Two in co-production with SundanceTV in the U.S. Top of the Lake 2: China Girl is slated to premiere in 2017, with Campion again on board to write with Lee and direct with new co-director Ariel Kleiman.
“I am so delighted to be working on Top of the Lake 2," added Christie. "Jane Campion has been a major creative influence throughout my life and I could not feel more privileged to be working on the next installment of her unique and enthralling drama, alongside the brilliant Elisabeth Moss.”
