A new "pulpy space opera genre film" Island in the Stars which will be shot in Australia is seeking its own stars - high profile ones to join their cast.

Which already includes Australians Vernon Wells (Mad Max II : The Road Warrior, Weird Science), Tony Bonner (The Man From Snowy River), Emily Coupe (The Crossroads) and Krista Vendy (Neighbours).

Callan McAuliffe (The Walking Dead) is in talks.

What's the movie about?

... the plot will see plot a young woman embark upon a dangerous expedition across space after space pirate carrying a star map to a hidden planet crashes outside her home. She hopes to unravel the mystery of the map and discover the fate of her missing father.

We can understand their describing this as pulpy.

The old crash-landed alien plot is far from new and this one's a pirate.

Carrying a mysterious map.

Plus there's a missing father with an unknown fate.

Sounds like Starman (crash) meets Star Wars (space pirate) meets Star Wars (father stuff) meets every film with some kind of treasure hunt.

Though pulp truly can be fun.

It's a matter of execution.

And with the execution of recent Star Wars titles missing the mark, now would be the perfect time for something new to fill that void.

[ Main Image: Weird Science - Vernon Wells. Credit: Universal Pictures via IMDb.com. ]

References

Whittock, J. & Ntim, Z. (August 30, 2022). Emily Blunt Heads To Mipcom For ‘The English’; U.S.-Aussie Sci-Fi ‘Island In The Stars’ Readied (Exclusive); Ukrainian Titles Among European Film Academy Longlist; Warner Bros Denmark Unveils Grand Canyon Format — Global Briefs. Deadline.