‘Dune’ Scribe Jon Spaihts Unveils Sci-Fi Thriller at Toronto Film Festival

Dune screenwriter Jon Spaihts is set to make his directorial debut with a sci-fi thriller unveiled at the Toronto Film Festival on Thursday.

Indie studio Laika is producing the film about a woman investigating a mystery that took place during a week she cannot remember. Spaihts knows his way around sci-fi films. Besides Dune and Dune 2, his other movie writing credits include Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, co-written with Damon Lindelof, Passengers and Marvel’s Doctor Strange.

Spaihts received an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay for his work on Dune, whose script he co-wrote with director Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth. Aside from a possible Dune 3, Warner Bros. Discovery could tap Spaihts for additional duties if it was to expand the Dune universe beyond projects already announced.

“This is an original passion project I’ve been eager to turn to for a while, and I couldn’t ask for better partners. Laika has a clear creative vision, and a tradition of meticulous, bespoke storytelling that suits this project very well,” Spaights said of his directorial debut in a statement being introduced this week to buyers in Toronto.

Laika recently announced the live action film Crumble, written and directed by Brian Duffield, and the re-release of its first animated film, Coraline.

“Laika has long admired Jon’s iconic work as a screenwriter. He is one of the most imaginative and inventive storytellers working today, and we’re honored to partner with him as he brings his unique vision and soul to the director’s chair for the first time with a wholly original idea that is as thought-provoking as it is moving,” Laika president of live action film and series Matt Levin said in his own statement.

Spaihts is represented by CAA and Circle Management + Production.