Luke Evans, Milla Jovovich

Neil Mockford/FilmMagic; Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

U.K. production, sales and distribution outfit Signature Entertainment has acquired the U.K. and Irish rights to action sci-fi movie World-Breaker starring Luke Evans (The Hobbit), Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil), and Billie Boullet (A Small Light) from The Exchange. The news comes as the film wraps production in Northern Ireland and the Cannes Film Festival and market kicked off.

The feature, produced by Bradley Gallo (Wild Mountain Thyme), Michael A. Helfant (The Call), Martin Brennan (One Way), and Jib Polhemus (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider), is directed by Brad Anderson (The Machinist) from a script written by Joshua Rollins (Infinite Storm). It follows a father and daughter who must escape a burning city and fight for survival while the human race faces a war with “vicious creatures from another dimension.”

Evans plays the father, Jovovich the mother, and Boullett the daughter.

The deal was negotiated between Signature Entertainment CEO Marc Goldberg and acquisitions and development Manager Katie Wilkinson with The Exchange’s president of worldwide sales and distribution Nat McCormick. Its release is planned for next year.

“World-Breaker is an action-packed high-quality independent proposition that rivals big-budget studio fare, so we pounced on this one!” said Wilkinson. “With its very appealing cast, thrilling script and great filmmaker credentials, we are certain U.K. and Irish audiences will lap it up in 2025.”

The Exchange is selling international and co-selling domestic rights on the film, including at the Cannes film market.

Signature, founded in 2011, has recently released the likes of the Stephen Fry-voiced animated movie The Canterville Ghost, Julia Louis-Dreyfus comedy You Hurt My Feelings, the George MacKay thriller Femme, and the Jodie Comer drama The End We Start From.