Ruairi Robinson to direct THE LAST DAYS ON MARS

Academy Award nominated Ruairi Robinson (Fifty Percent Grey, Blinky) is about to make the jump to feature film directing. Comingsoon reports that he is set to direct the thriller The Last Days On Mars based on a script by Clive Dawson. The news gets even better because the WETA team behind District 9, X-Men: First Class and Avatar are doing the special effects on the project.

The film is being produced by  Qwerty Films' Michael Kuhn (The Duchess,Being John Malkovich) and Andrea Cornwell (The Scouting Book for Boys). Focus Features International will handle international sales and distribution, with sales kicking off at the American Film Market. Pre-production has already begun, and production is expected to start shooting early 2012 on location in Jordan and at Shepperton Studios in the UK. The film is described as follows:

As their last day on Mars draws to a close, the astronaut crew is on the verge of a major breakthrough – collected rock specimens reveal microscopic evidence of life. Meanwhile, communication is underway with AURORA, the approaching spacecraft that will relieve the crew of their operations. In their last hours on the planet, two astronauts go back to SITE 9, a cavernous valley on the surface of Mars, to collect further evidence of their discovery. But a routine excavation turns deadly when one of them falls to his death and his body taken host and re-animated by the very life form they sought to discover.

Here is what Michael Kuhn had to say about the project:

"I have loved making sci-fi films since I made Pitch Black and for 'The Last Days on Mars' we have assembled a great team to do justice to a wonderful and commercial script."

Blinky was really creepy and wonderfully shot, so I am interested in seeing how this project comes to life. With WETA involved the scope of this film should be nothing short of beautiful. What are your thoughts?