From H.G. Wells’ Victorian serialised sci-fi The War of the Worlds, to Ridley Scott’s The Martian, we have been obsessed with stories about the Red Planet. Whether weird big-headed cape-wearers who explode when exposed to Slim Whitman, shape-shifting green superheroes who fight alongside the Justice League, or giant four-armed polar bear-looking things defeated by Taylor Kitsch, there’s just something about Martians that fascinates audiences.
Kew Media Group are now getting a slice of the action with the upcoming release of 2036 Origin Unknown starring Katee Sackhoff of Battlestar Galactica, Riddick and The Flash fame.
Based on a story by Hasraf ‘HaZ’ Dulull (who also directed) and written by Gary Hall, 2036 Origin Unknown follows a scientist who receives an “Origin Unknown” signal from Mars and must investigate from mission control 150 million miles away on Earth.
Mackenzie ‘Mack’ Wilson (Sackhoff) struggles to keep her career as an old-school mission controller in a future where artificial intelligence has made even the smartest human redundant. Mack was living her dream as a mission control scientist until Martian-One, the first manned flight to Mars, crashed. Among the dead was her father, Jake Wilson.
Years later USPC lead the space race and they’ve replaced mission controllers with advanced artificial intelligence supercomputer ARTi. No hidden motives, no mistakes. Humans are only needed when new ‘Origin Unknown’ objects are encountered and one has just been found on Mars…
Director Hasraf ‘HaZ’ Dulull said: “Working with Katee on 2036 Origin Unknown was a dream come true, not only was I a fan of her work, but she turned out to be one of the best collaborators on the project, she really sunk her soul and passion into the character of Mack and we spent months of prep before the shoot and her input throughout really helped shape the character you see on the screen.”
2036 Origin Unknown is produced by Anis Shlewet and James T. Ryan of Parkgate Entertainment and also stars Steven Cree (Outlander, The Titan, Outlaw King), Ray Fearon (Beauty and the Beast, Da Vinci’s Demons) and Julie Cox (Children of Dune, The Oxford Murders).
2036 Origin Unknown will be released in the UK on Digital HD and DVD from 13th August 2018.