The Leviathan: Watch The Teaser For Neill Blomkamp’s Upcoming Project

A new trend is starting to emerge: that of Hollywood listening to what the fans actually want. This is the case with recently green-lit movies like Neill Blomkamp’s Alien sequel and Fox’s Deadpool spin-off, both of which got momentum from internet popularity.  Now, another movie has gotten the nod of approval thanks to some momentum built around a short 3-minute teaser.

Director Ruari Robinson, who worked on The Last Days On Mars, recently released a sci-fi short entitled The Leviathan, which has captured the web’s imagination.

The short shows a distant future where faster-than-light travel has become possible thanks to the discovery of a powerful organic matter. That matter happens to be derived from the eggs of colossal flying creatures, which live in the roiling clouds of a far-off, hostile planet. The film shows us huge space ships flying in the planet’s thick, muddy light, which we soon learn are essentially futuristic whaling vessels. Then, out of the clouds, along comes their prey – a colossal beast with gnashing jaws and leathery wings.

The Leviathan is a proof-of-concept and pitch for a feature of the same name. Revealing in an interview with Film School Rejects, Robinson has enlisted the help of Jim Uhls – who famously adapted Fight Club for the screen in 1999 – to write the screenplay, which he’s described as “Jaws plus Wages Of Fear multiplied by Alien” – or, as it’s being called, “Moby Dick in space.”

That response soon caught the attention of Hollywood studios, who’ve reportedly been meeting with Robinson to try to make a deal. But then, on the 23rd of March, screenwriter and producing heavyweight Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days Of Future Past) stepped into the fray, and apparently made an offer which sent the opposition packing.

This means that The Leviathan now has potential studio backing at Fox, with Neill Blomkamp – who made Elysium and Chappie with Kinberg – also stepping in as executive producer.

Check out the trailer below: