After years in development, the sci-fi romance Passengers is finally coming together, with an incredibly talented pair of actors lined up to star. Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook, The Hunger Games) and new Hollywood It Guy Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World) are in talks to lead the project, which Morten Tyldum will direct as his follow-up to Oscar-nominated historical drama The Imitation Game.
The ambitious story involves a passenger (Pratt) on an interstellar voyage to a distant planet who wakes up from cryogenic sleep ninety years early and, feeling doomed to a life of utter solitude, makes the difficult decision to awaken a female passenger (Lawrence), resulting in an unconventional romance.
Passengers has been in development for years, with Keanu Reeves and Rachel McAdams at one point lined up to star in a Brian Kirk-directed take. Prometheus scribe Jon Spaihts, who also worked on Marvel’s Doctor Strange, provided the script.
Pratt will next be seen in this summer’s Jurassic World, which Universal hopes will launch a new franchise. He’s then rumored to be shooting a role in the Magnificent Seven redo and also has Guardians of Galaxy 2 on his schedule. Disney also recently voiced interest in having the star take over the part of Indiana Jones from Harrison Ford, so he certainly has his fair share of options.
For her part, Lawrence will reprise the role of Katniss Everdeen one last time in this fall’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 then make another bid for Oscar in the David O. Russell-directed biopic Joy. Also on the docket: X-Men: Apocalypse, in which she’ll again take on the role of Mystique.
Now, two huge stars like Lawrence and Pratt likely won’t have similar openings in their schedules for some time, but Sony is undoubtedly foaming at the mouth to capitalize on the pair’s mega-stardom. Seeing as few actors (if any) are as red-hot at the moment, the studio will do just about anything to make Passengers work out for them.