Neill Blomkamp, Simon Kinberg Producing 'The Leviathan'

About a week ago, Academy Award-nominated director Ruairi Robinson debuted a proof-of-concept teaser for The Leviathan, an ambitious sci-fi project written by Fight Club screenwriter Jim Uhls. The teaser was so impressive that it’s drawn the attention of Neill Blomkamp and X-Men writer/producer Simon Kinberg, who have just come on board to produce the project.

You can watch the proof-of-concept teaser for The Leviathan below, which is quite stunning — the film takes place in the early 22nd century, after we’ve colonized several planets with the aid of faster-than-light travel. In the film, we acquire the means of such travel by harvesting “exotic matter from the eggs of the largest species mankind has ever seen.” Acquiring that matter is no easy feat, which is why most of those employed to do so are working against their will.

The teaser features some futuristic spacecrafts as well as the promise of some huge, menacing creatures, blending space exploration monster sci-fi — like Prometheus meets Godzilla. It’s also been described as “Moby Dick in space.” You can see why this project is so attractive.

According to Deadline, The Leviathan quickly racked up 1.2 million plays on Vimeo, catching the attention of both Blomkamp and Kinberg, who quickly came on to produce a feature-length version of the massive project. In addition to working on the X-Men franchise, Kinberg is also a producer on the Fantastic Four reboot and has worked as a consultant on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Even if Fox ultimately decides not to move forward with the project, The Leviathan will have absolutely no trouble finding a studio willing to back it, especially with Kinberg and Blomkamp’s involvement.

Robinson was nominated for an Oscar in 2002 for his animated short film, Fifty Percent Grey. He most recently directed the 2013 sci-fi film The Last Days on Mars, starring Liev Schreiber.

The Leviathan -- Teaser from Ruairi Robinson on Vimeo.