Lucy Hale is going for sci-fi badass with her new role in White Mars. The film will be shot at Cinecittà Studios in Rome and entirely in a virtual production environment. Martin Owen will direct from a script by Matt Mitchell, Vicki Sargent, and Roo Berry.
White Mars is set in an isolated Aquila Research Facility in Antarctica. It follows microbiologist Sammie (Hale) as she fights to save her fellow crew members from a malevolent entity whose sole intention is to extinguish them all.
XYZ Films is co-financing—in conjunction with IPR.VC—with Singularity. They will handle the marketing for worldwide sales ahead of the American Film Market. Future Artists Entertainment’s Matt Williams will produce alongside Neil Jones in addition to Steve Griffith and Steve Jelley from Singularity Entertainment.
Matt Williams notes: “I am excited for this to be the first of a multi-slate of films with the team at XYZ and Singularity. Together, we will be bringing technologically advanced movie-making to the independent market to compete visually with high-end studio films. We are thrilled that Lucy is joining us on this action-packed sci-fi adventure as her character battles the sinister forces that threaten us all.”
Hale is familiar with genre entertainment. The actress might be best known for Pretty Little Liars, but she has also starred in Truth Or Dare and Scream 4 and appeared in the recent Hulu hit movie Which Brings Me To You.
The actress says, “White Mars is an absolute psychological thrill ride, and I’m so excited to film this at the Cinecittà film stages in Rome. At the heart of this story is Sammie, a character I truly admire for her resilience and strength. I can’t wait to collaborate with Martin Owen, our incredible cast, and the entire team to bring this story to life.”
The film is set to start principal photography on November 11, 2024.