Leading British talent Sean Bean (“Game of Thrones”), Asa Butterfield (“Ender’s Game”), Gemma Arterton (“Quantum of Solace”), Sam Claflin (“Hunger Games,” “Pirates of the Caribbean”) and Laura Haddock (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) are poised to sign up as the voice cast of upcoming Chinese animation “Watch The Skies.” The film is to be completed in the first quarter of 2019.
The film is produced by China’s DeZerlin Media and the U.K.’s Zycon Media, and is the
first product of a 10-film and 10 TV series co-production deal between the two companies.
The combined production budget of the slate is some $160 million (RMB1 billion) spread over a period of 8 years. The deal was announced by U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May in February as part of a package of bilateral creative and cultural collaborations.
“Watch The Skies’ is a coming-of-age sci-fi adventure about an alien boy who crashes on Earth. Along with his plucky young human companions, he must find the parts to reassemble his ship, all the while evading the clutches of a billionaire alien hunter and his security force.
Written and directed by Mark Byers (“Criminal Act,” “The Treatment”), “Watch The Skies” is produced by Zhang Lin, CEO of DeZerlin, and Mohammed Khalid, CEO of Zycon.
The all-star British cast was assembled by casting director Melsie Bourne of U.K.’s The Bourne Consultancy and agent Sara Elman of Advoice, a division of International Talent Group.
“This partnership marks the beginning of the globalization of content created in China and enjoyed by audiences everywhere,” said Zhang.