Whenever a new Paul W.S. Anderson film is announced, two thoughts quickly enter my mind— 1) “Shit, I thought that said Paul Thomas Anderson!” and 2) “What role is Milla Jovovich going to play?” (Kidding about the PTA thing, honest.) Well, Anderson does have a new film coming, titled “In the Lost Lands,” and Jovovich is going to play a witch. But that’s far from the complete story.
According to Variety, Paul W.S. Anderson is in development of an adaptation of the George R.R. Martin short story, “In the Lost Lands.” And, as you would expect, his wife, actress Milla Jovovich, is set to star in the feature. However, she’s not the only actor announced as part of the package. Jovovich is going to be joined by Dave Bautista in a lead role in the cast.
As mentioned, “In the Lost Lands” is based on a short story from the author of “Game of Thrones,” and follows the tale of a Queen that hires a powerful witch (Jovovich) to go on a quest alongside a drifter (Bautista) through the creepy Lost Lands. There, the duo will have to battle various bad guys and demons to achieve their goal.
The fact that Anderson is tackling a genre picture is no shock, either. His most recent film, last year’s “Monster Hunter,” is based on a video game franchise and features Jovovich battling all sorts of building-sized monsters. And before that, he worked on projects such as the “Resident Evil” film series, “Death Race,” “Event Horizon,” and “Alien vs. Predator.” Let’s not forget that he is also the filmmaker behind the original “Mortal Kombat” film (not to be confused with the grim, gritty, uber gory remake that’s coming this year).
“In the Lost Lands” is in search of a studio for financing and distribution, so it’s far too early to predict when we might see the film arrive in theaters and/or streaming. But Jovovich is a well-known presence amongst fandom, and Bautista has that Marvel pedigree, so it won’t be difficult to find financing, we’re guessing.