With westerns having a strong showing lately both at the arthouse and the multiplex, is sci-fi the next genre to have a mini-explosion? Certainly, “Interstellar,” “The Martian,” and “Ex Machina” have shown producers are willing to give projects a shot outside of reliable brands like “Star Trek” and “Star Wars,” and they’re being rewarded for taking the risk. And this Christmas, Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt will give the genre another big boost with “Passengers.” Now, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is gearing up his own vehicle that will take him into orbit.
Deadline reports that the actor has signed up to star in “Sovereign.” Written by Geoff Tock and Gregory Weidman, with Jack Thorne (“The Scouting Book for Boys,” “This Is England,” “The Last Panthers“) doing a rewrite, the story revolves around a man who embarks to find his wife and the crew of a space station that have gone missing, and in the process must come to terms with why his marriage fell apart. Space feelings!
Marc Munden (“The Crimson Petal and the White,” “Utopia“) will be directing, and the project is currently being shopped around. And I’d wager once those international sales start rolling in, production timelines will start getting laid out.