Variety reports that Kaya Scodelario (Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City), Lance Reddick (The Guest), and Ben Hardy (The Girl Before) have signed on to star in the psychological space thriller Apteros, which is expected to start shooting in Hungary this fall. Written and directed by Edward Anderson, who previously made the 2008 thriller Shuttle, Apteros is about
a crew of seven astronauts, including science officer Tressie (Scodelario), captain Mitchell (Reddick), systems engineer Wade (Hardy) and their onboard AI, who are en-route to Mars after bacterial life is discovered on the red planet in the not-too-distant future. Soon however, a number of unusual events unfold aboard the spacecraft, which is named APTEROS, and the crew find themselves divided in a tense psychological battle as they struggle to work out what is happening and realize nothing is as it seems. Thrown into a desperate tailspin, soon it’s not just the mission at stake, but all of life on earth.
Laura Rister is producing Apteros for Untitled Entertainment. Hero Squared is co-producing.
Anderson had this to say about the project:
The idea of a mystery set in space is uniquely fascinating and combining the challenges and risks of mankind’s search for alien life elevates the possibilities. With Apteros, I’m excited to explore these concepts in a hard science fiction context, by creating a very human story about paranoia, isolation, fear, and the dangers of technology in the face of a realistic discovery of alien life in its smallest, most baffling form.”
Independent Entertainment provided the following statement:
Independent have a long history of working on bold and ambitious sci-fi, and the script for Apteros rates as one of the best we’ve seen. Edward has created a gripping thriller full of big ideas, and we can’t wait for him bring his vision to life with this exceptionally talented group of actors.”
Anderson has gathered a solid cast with the first three choices, so I look forward to seeing how Apteros is going to turn out. Does this movie sound interesting to you? Let us know by leaving a comment below.