After months of sitting on the launch pad, Sony have finally greenlit the science-fiction romantic drama, Passengers, which is set to star Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence in the leading roles.
The film, which is said to be directed by The Imitation Game‘s Oscar-nominated director, Morten Tyldum, tells the story of a spaceship transporting thousands of human colonists to a distant planet. At the centre of Jon Spaiht’s screenplay, is a singular passenger (played by Pratt) who because of a malfunction, is awakened 90 years before anyone else on the shuttle. Unable to fix the situation and seemingly doomed to spend his time dying alone, he decides – somewhat controversially – to wake up a fellow passenger (Lawrence).
The film has been in Sony’s hands since 2013, with bosses debating over whether they could handle the pricey budget, which stands at around $120 million with tax breaks. However, thanks to Pratt’s recent blockbuster success in Guardians of the Galaxy – and more recently in Jurassic World – the company have finally allowed the project to go ahead.
As two of the most charismatic and in-demand stars around right now, the prospect of seeing Pratt and Lawrence on screen together is massively exciting – but it comes at quite a cost for Sony. Both stars have been given big cheques for their involvement in the film; Lawrence is said to be paid around $20 million, while Pratt has been offered a total of $12 million, which is higher than the original offer of $10 million that he was given pre-Jurassic World.
After all these hold-ups and changes (Keanu Reeves and Reese Witherspoon/Rachel McAdams were originally going to be the stars, with The Weinstein Company producing), it looks like filming is finally set to start in September this year.
Watch the trailer for Jurassic World – the film that finally convinced Sony to go ahead with this project – below.
