Even though he had written scripts for great sci-fi films like Never Let Me Go and Sunshine, it wasn’t until last year that Alex Garland finally got the attention he deserves with the release of his directorial debut, Ex Machina. Garland has been in production on his follow-up, Annihilation, another sci-fi thriller that looks like it will be every bit as breathtaking as his previous effort — if these set photos are any indication.

Annihilation is based on the first book in Jeff Vandermeer’s trilogy, and stars Natalie Portman, Creed’s Tessa Thompson, Jane the Virgin’s Gina Rodriguez, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Garland’s Ex Machina star Oscar Isaac. Between Garland and that killer lineup, we have more than enough reason to be excited for Annihilation, but just in case you needed something a little extra, The Film Stage picked up on this series of stunning photos from the set.

Rodriguez and Thompson shared some lovely images taken during production, but the really good stuff comes from cinematographer Rob Hardy, who also shot Ex Machina (in case you couldn’t tell from these pics):

Annihilation centers on four women who head off on an expedition to a mysterious and dangerous territory known as Area X. There were 11 previous expeditions, all of which ended in tragedy — one group of explorers turned on one another and shot each other, another group committed mass suicide, etc. The primary goal of the 12th expedition is to map the terrain and catalog all their findings while avoiding contamination. But along with the discovery of new life forms and strange natural anomalies, the group soon finds that the most startling revelations are the ones they’ve been keeping from each other.

That definitely sounds like an appropriate follow-up to Ex Machina, and although Annihilation won’t hit theaters until sometime next year, these beautiful images should hold us over until we see something a bit more official.

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