Matt Reeves’ (The Batman) 6th & Idaho production company is teaming up with Village Roadshow Pictures (The Matrix, Joker) along with XYZ Films (Mandy) to develop an English-language remake of the 2020 Russian sci-fi horror Sputnik, according to Deadline. The remake is currently in development and will be produced by Matt Reeves, Adam Kassan, and Rafi Chrohn for 6th & Idaho; Mikhail Vrubel and Alexander Andryushenko for Vodorod Pictures; Art Pictures’ Fedor Bondarchuk; and Hype Film’s Ilya Stewart.
“We believe Sputnik will translate well to English-speaking audiences and continue to captivate moviegoers worldwide with its thrilling story. We are eager to begin production and believe we have some of the best partners in the industry to reimagine Egor’s original vision while staying true to the film’s journey,” said Jillian Apfelbaum, Village Roadshow Pictures’ Executive Vice President, Feature Film.
RELATED: Matt Reeves Shares Set Photo as The Batman Wraps Filming
Set in the Soviet Union in the 1980s during the Cold War, the film follows a young female doctor who is recruited by the military to assess a cosmonaut who survived a mysterious space accident and returned to Earth with a dangerous organism living inside him.
“Sputnik was the first big Russian release to go straight to digital platforms during the lockdown, everyone was staying at home and an unprecedented amount of people watched it, the release created a lot of buzz both in Russia and globally. I’m very proud that Sputnik now is a rare Russian film to get an English language remake,” said Russian producer Fedor Bondarchuk, who also stars in the original.
Executive producers for the project include Egor Abramenko, Murad Osmann, Pavel Burya, Alina Tyazhlova, and Mila Rozanova, alongside XYZ Films. Jillian Apfelbaum (Late Night) is overseeing for Village Roadshow Pictures.
RELATED: Joe Barton Joins Matt Reeves’ Gotham PD Series as Showrunner
The original Sputnik was directed by Egor Abramenko and written by Oleg Malovichko and Andrey Zolotarev. The movie starred Oksana Akinshina, Fedor Bondarchuk, Pyotr Fyodorov, and Anton Vasilev.
