For a while, it looked like the original screenplay "Passengers" would be moving forward with Warner Bros. starring Keanu Reeves and Reese Witherspoon. But the sci-fi/romantic drama failed to materialize, and now the project is moving forward with Sony and two hot new actors on board - Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence.
The budget has been given a significant increase as well, with a different director on board, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The budget increase might be attributed to the combined salaries of Pratt and Lawrence, given Pratt's and Lawrence's recent box office successes. Pratt made it big with Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" then later went on to star in "Jurassic World." Lawrence, meanwhile, became a household name for movies such as "The Hunger Games" and "Silver Linings Playbook," among many others.
"Passengers" will be directed by Morten Tyldum, who directed "The Imitation Game" starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
Both Pratt and Lawrence will be receiving $12 and $20 million respectively, plus 30 percent of the profit after the film breaks even. Pratt's original fee was at $10 million, but now that "Jurassic World" broke global box office records during its opening weekend, Sony decided to give him a 20 percent pay raise.
"Passengers" will tell the story of a guy (played by Pratt) who wakes up from his cryogenic sleep of 90 years before the spaceship he's on reaches its destination. To avoid growing old and dying alone, he decides to awaken fellow passenger (played by Lawrence).
The script is written by Jon Spaihts, who also wrote "Prometheus" as well as Marvel Studios' "Doctor Strange" and Universal Studios' "The Mummy" reboot.
Spaiht's "Passengers" screenplay made it to the 2007 Hollywood Blacklist of Best Unproduced Scripts, and has even been described as "'Gravity' with romance." It is science fiction that explores human relationship drama with an element of survival.
They are set to begin production this July 2015.
Aside from "Passengers," Pratt will also be working on the sequels for "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Jurassic World," where he will be reprising his roles as Star-Lord and Owen Grady, respectively.
There have been reports that Pratt will be taking on the fedora from Harrison Ford and be the next Indiana Jones, since he has been hand-picked by Steven Spielberg himself, but the actor has confirmed that nobody has approached him yet regarding that project.
Lawrence, meanwhile, will be reprising her role as Katniss Everdeen later this year in the last installment of "The Hunger Games" franchise - "Mockingjay Part 2."
