Village Roadshow Pictures, the co-producer for The Matrix and Joker, is teaming with Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, The Batman) and XYZ Films (Mandy) for the English-language remake of the new Russian sci-fi-thriller Sputnik. Sputnik takes place in the 1980s in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The film follows a young female doctor who is enlisted by the military to study a cosmonaut who survived a mysterious space accident and has returned to Earth with a dangerous organism living inside him.

The original film was released in April 2020 in Russia and was directed by Egor Abramenko and produced by Vodorod Pictures, Art Pictures Studio, and Hype Film. The feature had its international premiere at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival XYZ.

The English-language remake is currently in development. Jillian Apfelbaum, the Village Roadshow Pictures’ Executive Vice President, stated that,“We believe Sputnik will translate well to English-speaking audiences and continue to captivate moviegoers worldwide with its thrilling story. We are eager to begin production and believe we have some of the best partners in the industry to reimagine Egor’s original vision while staying true to the film’s journey”.

Producers for the remake include Matt Reeves, Adam Kassan and Rafi Crohn for 6th & Idaho, Mikhail Vrubel and Alexander Andryushenko for Vodorod Pictures, Fedor Bondarchuk for Art Pictures and Ilya Stewart for Hype Film. According to Deadline, the film is currently in pre-production.