Directed by Greg Berlanti and produced by star Scarlett Johansson, the romantic dramedy Fly Me to the Moon was originally meant to be released directly to the Apple TV+ streaming service, but strong test screenings inspired Sony to give the film a theatrical release first. The movie isn’t setting the box office on fire, having pulled in just $20 million worldwide during its first week of release, but it will be heading to Apple TV+ soon anyway – and Berlanti and Johansson were able to establish a strong working relationship during the making of the film. That’s a working relationship they’re now set to continue with a psychological thriller called Sasha, and Deadline reports that Amazon MGM Studios has come out the winner of a five-way auction to land the rights to the project.
Berlanti will be producing Sasha alongside Sarah Schechter and Mike McGrath for Berlanti Schechter Films, while Johansson does the same for These Pictures, alongside Jonathan Lia and Keenan Flynn. As of right now, Johansson is only involved as a producer. There’s no word on whether or not she’ll end up taking an acting role in the film as well.
Micah Schraft, who has worked as a writer on films like The Quiet and Sunny & Share Love You, as well as on TV shows like Jessica Jones and Jane the Virgin, is writing the screenplay for Sasha, working from a short story by Suzanne Rindell, the author of the novels The Other Typist, Three Martini Lunch, Eagle & Crane, The Two Mrs. Carlyles, and Summer Fridays.
Details on the plot are being kept under wraps, but this is said to be something along the lines of psychological thrillers like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and What Lies Beneath.
Scripted by Rose Gilroy (with Bill Kirstein and Keenan Flynn receiving story credit), Fly Me to the Moon has been described as sharp and stylish and is set against the high-stakes backdrop of NASA’s historic moon landing. Brought in to fix NASA’s public image, sparks fly in all directions as marketing wunderkind Kelly Jones wreaks havoc on launch director Cole Davis’s already difficult task. When the President deems the mission too important to fail, Jones is directed to stage a fake moon landing as back-up and the countdown truly begins… Johansson was joined in the cast by Channing Tatum, Nick Dillenburg, Anna Garcia, Jim Rash, Noah Robbins, Colin Woodell, Christian Zuber, Donald Elise Watkins, Ray Romano, and Woody Harrelson.
Are you glad to hear that Greg Berlanti and Scarlett Johansson are working together again after Fly Me to the Moon, and does Sasha sound interesting to you? Let us know by leaving a comment below.