Jon Spaihts, the screenwriter behind the Dune films and more besides, is turning to directing with an original sci-fi film.
Laika may be better known for its charming animated output, including Kubo And The Two Strings and its debut Coraline, but it also has a business arm which has a number of live-action films in the works.
The most recently announced of these is an untitled project from Jon Spaihts, previously known for his work as a screenwriter – his credits include Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies, Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel Prometheus (the latter rewritten by Damon Lindelof) and more besides. In what will be his directorial debut, Spaihts’ sci-fi feature will reportedly be about “a woman investigating a mystery that took place during a week she cannot remember.”
It sounds a bit Philip K Dick with its missing memory premise. Or perhaps it’s just about someone who went on a package holiday to Greece in the early 2000s and had a few too many cocktails. Something that definitely never happened to us.
Spaihts’ writer-director plans were formally unveiled at the Toronto Film Festival. “This is an original passion project I’ve been eager to turn to for a while, and I couldn’t ask for better partners,” he said in a statement published by The Hollywood Reporter. “Laika has a clear creative vision, and a tradition of meticulous, bespoke storytelling that suits this project very well.”
Read more: Laika: Frame By Frame | Behind the scenes of the BFI’s stop motion exhibition
Laika put out its own similarly effusive statement. “Laika has long admired Jon’s iconic work as a screenwriter,” someone at the studio wrote. “He is one of the most imaginative and inventive storytellers working today, and we’re honored to partner with him as he brings his unique vision and soul to the director’s chair for the first time with a wholly original idea that is as thought-provoking as it is moving.”
Also in the works at Laika is Crumble, written and directed by No One Will Save You's Brian Duffield, as well as an action thriller called Seventeen.
In other Laika news, founder and director Travis Knight’s stop motion fantasy Wildwood is due for release in 2025, while fans of the studio’s output might want to visit Laika: Frame By Frame, an exhibition dedicated to its hand-crafted work. It’s currently running at BFI Southbank and will remain there until the 1st October.
More on Jon Spaihts’ sci-fi mystery as we get it.
