Deadline have revealed today that Emma Roberts (Scream 4) and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix franchise) have been set to star in The Astronaut, an upcoming sci-fi thriller produced by A Quiet Place and The Purge‘s Brad Fuller. Also producing are Eric B. Fleischman (Sleight) and Cameron Fuller (The Girl in the Woods).
Jess Varley will make her solo writing and directorial debut on the project which follows astronaut Sam Walker (Roberts)…
…who is found miraculously alive in a punctured capsule floating deep off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. General William Harris (Fishburne) arranges for her to be placed under intense NASA surveillance in a high security house for rehabilitation and medical testing. When disturbing occurrences begin happening around the property, Walker fears something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth.
Varley, who directed two segments in the Radio Silence-produced anthology horror Phobias, expressed her excitement for the upcoming project: “This story is very close to my heart and I’m profoundly grateful it’s resonated with such an immensely accomplished team of creatives. I couldn’t be more excited for audiences to fasten their seatbelts and go on this thrilling ride with us!”
Both Roberts and Fishburne are no stranger to the genre scene, with Roberts not only immortalized in horror history as Scream 4‘s Jill Roberts/Ghostface, but also in The Blackcoat’s Daughter, American Horror Story and Scream Queens to name but a few. Fishburne has visited on-screen space a few times before too, in Event Horizon, The Signal and Passengers.
Production on The Astronaut is due to start later this year in Ireland, so keep your eye on the sky for updates as we get ’em!
