Nicholas Hoult and Rooney Mara Join Sci-Fi Love Story THE DISCOVERY

Are sci-fi romances going to be the next big trend? Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence have Passengers coming up soon, and now THR reports that Mad Max: Fury Road and X-Men: Apocalypse star Nicholas Hoult is joining The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Carol star Rooney Mara in a new one called The Discovery.

Written by Charlie McDowell and Justin Lader and directed by McDowell, the sci-fi love story is "set in a world where the existence of the afterlife is scientifically proven." Hoult will play the son of the man who made that discovery, while Mara will portray his love interest, a woman with a tragic past.

McDowell directed The One I Love (which he also wrote with Lader), a terrific little sci-fi indie that you should seek out if you haven't seen by now. I thought he showed a lot of promise with that movie, so I'm excited to see how he handles a project that sounds like it could be a little larger in scope. And while it's practically been a given over the past few years that Mara can disappear into different roles with ease, I had admittedly sort of pegged Hoult as a one-note actor until I saw him in Fury Road, in which he goes totally bonkers and couldn't be further from his character in the X-Men movies. I'm interested to see how both of their careers move forward, and this collaboration with McDowell should result in a fascinating movie.