Here are the Stunning First Images from Alex Garland’s Annihilation

Ex Machina writer-director Alex Garland just wrapped principal photography on his environmental thriller Annihilation, an adaptation of Jeff Vandermeer’s 2014 novel of the same name. And speaking of photography, the film’s cast and crew have shared the first images from the much-anticipated film, which are exactly as gorgeous and ominous as one would expect.

Cast members Tessa Thompson (Creed) and Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) appear to have bonded while shooting Annihilation, with both actresses sharing Instagram photos of themselves palling around on set, taken by Garland.

Though their exact roles are still uncertain, it’s clear that Thompson and Rodriguez make up half of the film’s core cast. Annihilation follows a four-person, all-female team made up of a biologist (Natalie Portman), a psychologist (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a surveyor and an anthropologist who are sent into Area X, a mysterious and hazardous wilderness from which precious few previous explorers have emerged alive.

And speaking of Area X, Annihilation cinematographer Rob Hardy, who also worked with Garland on Ex Machina, has shared his own photos from the shoot, including a number of breathtaking images of the film’s set.

While none of these photos are official film stills, they are an encouraging sign of what’s to come in Garland’s film, which appears to evoke the same entrancing suspense of its source material. Even Vandermeer himself was impressed by the film’s cast; and set during a recent visit.

“wrapped on Annihilation,” Thompson wrote in a related post. “quite possibly a very beautiful film. can’t wait [for you] to see.”

Annihilation hits theaters sometime in 2017. Find more photos from the set via Hardy’s Instagram here.