Oscar®-Nominated Dune Screenwriter Jon Spaihts to Make Directorial Debut With Sci-Fi Thriller From LAIKA Live Action Division

Award-winning studio LAIKA is expanding its live action slate with an original film written by Oscar^®-nominated screenwriter Jon Spaihts (Dune, Passengers, Doctor Strange), who makes his directorial debut with this sci-fi thriller. Matt Levin, LAIKA’s President, Live Action Film & Series, made the announcement today.

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Photo of Jon Spaihts: Johanna Watts

The untitled film tells the tale of a woman investigating a mystery that took place during a week she cannot remember.

“LAIKA has long admired Jon's iconic work as a screenwriter,” said Levin. “He is one of the most imaginative and inventive storytellers working today, and we're honored to partner with him as he brings his unique vision and soul to the director's chair for the first time with a wholly original idea that is as thought provoking as it is moving.”

Spaihts is well known for co-writing Denis Villeneuve's Dune (2021) and its sequel Dune: Part Two (2024), both films based on the novel of the same name by Frank Herbert. He also wrote the screenplays for Prometheus (2012), Passengers (2016) and Doctor Strange (2016). For his work on Dune, Spaihts was nominated for the Academy Award^® for Best Adapted Screenplay. Spaihts is fascinated by the intersection of history and science, and the choices human beings make under extraordinary circumstances.

“This is an original passion project I’ve been eager to turn to for a while,” said Spaihts, “and I couldn’t ask for better partners. LAIKA has a clear creative vision, and a tradition of meticulous, bespoke storytelling that suits this project very well.”

Jon Spaihts is represented by CAA, Circle Management + Production, and Goodman Genow Schenkman Smelkinson + Christopher, LLP.

LAIKA recently announced the live action film Crumble, written and directed by Brian Duffield and produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller. The re-release of its first animated film Coraline to celebrate its 15^th Anniversary in glorious, remastered 3D has amassed over $48M at the global box office since August 15^th.

About LAIKA

LAIKA was founded in 2005 in Oregon by President & CEO Travis Knight. The studio’s five films, Coraline (2009), ParaNorman (2012), The Boxtrolls (2014), Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) and Missing Link (2019), have all been nominated for the Academy Award^® for Outstanding Animated Feature. Kubo and the Two Strings won the BAFTA^® Award for Best Animated Film and received an additional Oscar^® nomination for Visual Effects. Missing Link was awarded the Golden Globe^® for Best Animated Film. LAIKA was awarded a Scientific and Technology Oscar^® in 2016 for its innovation in 3D printing. LAIKA is currently in production on its next animated film Wildwood. LAIKA has launched a Live Action subsidiary with a range of projects in development including feature films based on the action thriller novel Seventeen by screenwriter John Brownlow and the original script Crumble, written and directed by Brian Duffield with Phil Lord and Chris Miller producing. The studio is developing the animated feature films The Night Gardener, from an original idea by Bill Dubuque, creator of the hit series Ozark, and Piranesi, based on the NYT bestselling novel by Susanna Clarke. www.laika.com

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