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Sony Pictures buys US rights to Spierig brothers’ Predestination

The international trade press has been reporting strong sales on Michael and Peter Spierig’s time-travel action thriller Predestination, to be filmed next year in Australia with Ethan Hawke in the lead role.

Variety reported that Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has acquired US and select international rights, while The Hollywood Reporter noted that all German rights have been sold to Tiberius Film, which also handled their previous film, the vampire movie Daybreakers, which also starred Hawke.

As reported on this site 10 days ago, Arclight Films is handling international sales on the upcoming film, which is based on the Robert A Heinlein short story All You Zombies.

It is not a zombie flick, however, but a thriller about a secret government agency designed to prevent killers and terrorists from ever committing their crimes.

“This is one of our favourite short stories for the simple fact that we can confidently say: this is unlike anything you've ever read before,” said the Spierig Brothers in a statement. “The short is on many sci-fi lists as one of the greatest short stories of all time, and the mother of all time paradox tales,” said the Spierigs. “Heinlein is considered one of the great science fiction masters along side Phillip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke.”

Production is due to start early next year with Brisbane-based Patrick McDonald of Wolfhound Pictures and Tim McGahan of Blacklab Entertainment producing.

Daybreakers grossed more than $50 million worldwide, $30 million of which came from North America.