Hollywood is about to take one giant leap with its very first movie shot in space. 

Romantic space drama ‘I See You’ is reportedly set to be filmed more than 60 miles above the Earth starting from next year. 

I See You is being produced by Andrea Iervolino, whose existing credits include Paradox Effect, In the Fire, and Finding Steve McQueen. 

The Italian-Canadian film producer and entrepreneur has hired an experienced NASA astronaut to help with the script. 

At the moment, details of the plot are a closely-guarded secret. 

But the movie’s themes will include ‘human endurance, isolation and emotional connection’, reveals Iervolino. 

Following a Russian effort two years ago, I See You will mark Hollywood’s first fictional, feature-length film featuring actors to be shot in space.

Tom Cruise and Doug Liman were also revealed to be working on a space action movie a few years back, although this effort is yet to materialise. 

Retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, a veteran of four space flights and now a public speaker and author, has joined the project. Kelly is pictured here during a spacewalk, November 6, 2015

Retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, a veteran of four space flights and now a public speaker and author, has joined the I See You project as script advisor, Deadline reports. 

Kelly holds the record for longest single spaceflight by a NASA astronaut – 340 days, set in March 2016 – so his wealth of experience should add credibility to the script. 

He will ‘lend his first-hand expertise to ensure authenticity in the portrayal of human endurance, isolation, and emotional connection in the vastness of space’, said Iervolino. 

‘Having Scott Kelly on board is an extraordinary honour,’ the producer added. 

‘His experience brings emotional truth and scientific realism to our vision, reminding us that love and humanity transcend every boundary, even in the silence of space.’ 

The script is being written by husband-and-wife team Andrew Schneider and Diane Frolov, known mostly for TV series The Sopranos and Northern Exposure.

But the director, cast, any concrete details about the plot and the film’s release date are yet to be revealed.

Iervolino will blast into space himself when shooting begins next year, along with other members of the crew and possibly actors too. 

Kelly holds the record for longest single spaceflight by a NASA astronaut – 340 days, set in March 2016

Tom Cruise (pictured) and Doug Liman were also revealed to be working on a space action movie a few years back, although this effort is yet to materialise. The Top Gun actor has starred in many sci-fi projects, including Oblivion, in which he stars as a futuristic ranger assigned to protect the Earth’s resources

According to Iervolino, discussions are in ‘advanced stages’ to secure a rocket to transport the team. 

Jetting filmmakers into space may sound like risky business, but ‘space tourism’ firms such as Blue Origin are already sending paying tourists up there, not to mention celebrities like Katy Perry. 

Iervolino and his fellow crew will likely benefit from an intensive training programme to ensure they’re fit for the task.  

At the moment, it’s unclear how much of ‘I See You’ will be space footage as opposed to down on Earth the old-fashioned way, but not all of it will be freshly shot.

Iervolino plans to integrate real space stock footage – a decision that will likely save money and time.

Iervolino is head of Space11, the first aerospace company and film studio ‘dedicated to bringing all facets of entertainment to outer space’. 

It was founded in 2021 just a couple of years before Russian film maker Klim Shipenko pipped Iervolino to the post. 

Shipenko’s The Challenge, released in April 2023, is the first fictional, feature-length film featuring actors to be shot in space. It was made with assistance from a handful of Russian production companies, with Russian cast and crew. 

Cosmonaut and actor Yuliya Peresild (left) and actor Milos Bikovic (right) were among those to star in Russian film The Challenge (2023)

The cast included cosmonauts Yulia Peresild and Anton Shkaplerov, who flew to the International Space Station (ISS) along with Shipenko in October 2021. 

In the film, Peresild plays a surgeon who has to fly to the ISS to perform a life-saving operation on a cosmonaut. 

Several documentary films have of course featured space footage, such as Apollo 11 (2019) and In the Shadow of the Moon (2007). 

Meanwhile, the first video taken in space was courtesy of V-2 No. 13, an American rocket launched in October 1946. 

A century after this feat, movies shot entirely in space could become the norm thanks to pioneers like Iervolino and Shipenko.