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.