Imitation Game director Morten Tyldum making sci-fi Passengers

He's currently nominated for the Best Director gong at this year's Oscars, but that hasn't stopped Imitation Game's Morten Tyldum looking for his next project.

And in a bit of a shift in direction, it looks like he'll be tackling sci-fi Passengers, which sees a love story unfolding aboard a cargo spaceship destined for a far-flung planet.

That romance is kicked off when a male passenger is awoken 90 years before the rest of his slumbering crew, leading to him waking up a female passenger for company.

Deadline report that Tyldum is in early talks to take on the film, which is scripted by Jon Spaihts (Doctor Strange) and was originally set to star Keanu Reeves when director Bryan Kirk was attached.

Spaihts' script appeared on the 2007 Blacklist, the annual list of best undeveloped screenplays, and has gone through a number of cast and production switcheroos, including both Reese Witherspoon and Rachel McAdams signing on and departing the film.

With Tyldum now attached, things should hopefully get moving again on what sounds like an interesting sci-fi set-up. Keira Knightley in space, anyone?

Josh Winning

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.  

Latest in Movies
Cosmo Jarvis
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey adds Shogun star to its massively star-studded cast, and I'm getting Oppenheimer vibes all over again
Shoto Hinata in Haikyu!! The Movie: VS The Little Giant
Haikyuu VS The Little Giant: Release date speculation, story, trailer, and everything we know so far
Guardians of the Galaxy 3
Marvel star Vin Diesel might be teasing a Groot movie: "Disney wants their Planet X!"
Tiana in The Princess and the Frog
TV show based on underrated Disney movie quietly cancelled amid streaming shake up
Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne in The Batman
Robert Pattinson worries he will be a "f*cking old Batman" by the time filming on The Batman 2 finally starts
Still from upcoming horror movie The Woman in the Yard
Blumhouse horror movie The Woman in the Yard's new trailer has genre fans trying to predict its twist – and some of their theories sound pretty plausible
Latest in News
Dragon Age Inquisition
Dragon Age actor says the last time he played Inquisition, he upheld the RPG tradition led by Baldur's Gate 3 actors and romanced his own character: "Which is the best — the best"
Monster Hunter Wilds
Capcom promises "this is just the start for the next generation of Monster Hunter" as Wilds shatters sales milestones: "The Guild authorizes this celebration!"
Lester sitting at a computer in some artwork for GTA Online
Some GTA 5 players can't bring their characters to the new PC upgrade, and the open-world game's mixed Steam reviews are hammering FPS caps and a lack of text chat
Kamala Khan holds Jean Grey's body in an homage to the cover of Uncanny X-Men #136
45 years after the original Dark Phoenix Saga, Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan will travel back in time to save X-Men history
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Assassin's Creed Shadows is the first game in the series with "a fully customizable sandbox" as your base, which is where Yasuke and Naoe hang out and pet baby animals
Monster Hunter Wilds screenshot of spider boss Nerscylla
Monster Hunter Wilds takes an infamously rare and annoying material from the old games and absolutely buries you in it – and also buries you in tiny spiders