If The Thing didn’t give you your fill of horror movies set in freezing cold, isolated landscapes where there’s no escape except death, then you’re in luck. Deadline reports that Truth or Dare star Lucy Hale is set to star in White Mars, a new sci-fi horror film set in the depths of Antarctica, where she’ll tackle a threat not unlike the one faced by Kurt Russell’s MacReady.
Much like The Thing, White Mars is set at the isolated Aquila Research Facility in Antarctica, where Hale plays a microbiologist named Sammie. When a malevolent entity invades the station, Sammie must fight to save her fellow crew members from death when the creature comes after them, determined to extinguish every last spark of life in the most isolated place on Earth.
“White Mars is an absolute psychological thrill ride, and I’m so excited to film this at the Cinecittà film stages in Rome,” Hale told Deadline. “At the heart of this story is Sammie, a character I truly admire for her resilience and strength. I can’t wait to collaborate with Martin Owen, our incredible cast, and the entire team to bring this story to life.”
Martin Owen is set to direct the film, which features a script by Matt Mitchell, Vicki Sargent, and Roo Berry. White Mars is set to be shot “entirely in a virtual production environment,” according to Deadline, which we imagine is something like The Volume, a projection tool used for science-fiction projects like Disney’s The Mandalorian, which allows filmmakers to completely immerse their stars in out of this world landscapes.
“I am excited for this to be the first of a multi-slate of films with the team at XYZ and Singularity,” said producer Matt Williams. “Together we will be bringing technologically advanced movie making to the independent market to compete visually with high end studio films. We are thrilled that Lucy is joining us on this action-packed sci-fi adventure as her character battles the sinister forces that threaten us all.”
The project is Hale’s latest journey into horror, after the recent release of the trailer for F Marry Kill, where she finds herself head to head with a dating app killer. This comes after a long run in the popular Pretty Little Liars series, as well as films like Truth or Dare, Fantasy Island, and last year’s Inside Man.
No release date has been set for White Mars.
