Simon Kinberg Will Turn Ruairi Robinson’s ‘The Leviathan’ Into A Full-Length Feature
Ruairi Robinson’s proof of concept trailer forThe Leviathanbecame an overnight sensation when it hit Vimeo and YouTube last week, and Hollywood has taken notice. A feature film is now in the works with two men who know a thing or two about bringing vast sci-fi universes to life:Simon Kinberg(X-Men) andNeill Blomkamp(Chappie). More onThe Leviathanmovie after the jump.Deadlinereports Kinberg beat out several big-name producers to clinch the deal. He will produce and Blomkamp will executive produce. Kinberg’s first-look deal with Fox means there’s a good chanceThe Leviathanwill end up there. Even if Fox passes, though, the buzz surrounding the project should help it secure a deal elsewhere.
It’s not tough to see why Kinberg and Blomkamp were taken withThe Leviathan. The gritty feel and vast scale ofThe Leviathanproof-of-concept trailer seem to be right up their alley. Inspired in part byMoby Dick, with shades ofDune, the synopsis forThe Leviathanreads as follows:
By the early 22nd century mankind had colonized many worlds. Faster than light travel was made possible by harvesting exotic matter from the eggs of the largest species mankind has ever seen. Those that take part in the hunt are mostly involuntary labor.
Robinson previously directed the short filmsBlinkyandThe Silent City, as well as the feature filmThe Last Days on Mars. He was at one point attached to direct the live-actionAkiraremake. (Needless to say those plans didn’t work out, but you cancheck out the storyboardsfrom back then if you’re curious about what his vision might have been.)
Kinberg has been with Fox’s X-Men franchise since 2006’sThe Last Stand, and is also producingDeadpoolandFantastic Fourfor the studio. He’s also tied up with Disney’sStar Warsfranchise, as a co-creator and executive producer ofStar Wars Rebelsand the writer of one of the upcoming standalone films. In addition, he produced Blomkamp’sChappieand has Ridley Scott’sThe Martiancoming out soon.
Blomkamp is coming off of the aforementionedChappieand is now working on the nextAlienmovie.Chappiewasn’t really a win for him,in my humble opinion, but he does have a clear love of sci-fi worldbuilding. As long as he steers clear of screenwriting duties onThe Leviathan, his involvement is a good thing.
