After the immensely promising news that Claire Denis will follow up Bastards, one of our favorite films of the last few years, with a sci-fi film set in space, we now know who will be leading the project. According to L’Express, Robert Pattinson has been set to star in the film, adding another impressive collaborator to his resume after David Cronenberg, Werner Herzog, Anton Corbijn, David Michôd, and James Gray.
Based on an idea by Denis and frequent collaborator Jean-Pol Fargeau, the script will come from Zadie Smith and Nick Laird. Although plot details aren’t being disclosed yet, Pattinson will take the role of an astronaut. The only brief note we’re given is that it will “take place beyond the solar system in a future that seems like the present.” Additional collaborators include artist Olafur Eliasson and astrophysicist Aurélien Barrau, as well as Tindersticks‘ Stuart Staples, who has had many previous collaborations with Denis.
“I am delighted that Claire has been tempted to cross the channel and make a film in English; she is one of the greats of contemporary cinema and she’s assembled a quite extraordinary team to make exactly the kind of ambitious film that audiences cherish – completely original, genuinely pushing the boundaries of art and science and, above all, extremely entertaining,” producer Oliver Dungey says.
As we wait for more details, check out a talk by Eliasson below, along with the short film Contact, which the artist and Denis worked on back in 2014, and another extensive talk with Denis here.
Claire Denis, Contact by Olafur Eliasson from Studio Olafur Eliasson on Vimeo.
What do you think of the prospects of Denis’ sci-fi space adventure with Pattinson in the lead?