Roel Reiné To Direct ‘Lunar Colony’; Billed As Sci-Fi Thriller Meets Space Age ‘Romeo & Juliet’
EXCLUSIVE: Roel Reiné (Halo) has signed to direct sci-fi thriller Lunar Colony, which takes its cue from an imagined future reality in which mankind had colonized the moon.
The production brings together Centerboro Productions, Sintered Steel Productions and Convoke Media, which began talking to buyers about the project at TIFF last week.
Set in 2060, the feature takes place nearly three decades after humanity established Terra 2.0, a permanent civilization on the Moon. As Earth becomes increasingly dependent on the colony’s resources, tensions between the two worlds threaten to ignite a new struggle for power and control.
When Tiara and Josh, two young people raised on opposite sides of the Earth–Moon divide, fall in love, their relationship challenges political loyalties, family expectations and the forces determined to keep their worlds apart.
Inspired by NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humankind to the moon and establish a permanent base there, the feature is written by Cerise Fukuji.
It is produced by Patricia A. Beninati (Hubble: 20 Years of Discovery) through Centerboro Productions; Todd Slater of Convoke Media (Bella, The Optimist); Fukuji (Ted Bundy: Dialogue with the Devil) through Sintered Steel Productions; Marilyn G. Haft (Grace Is Gone); Ram Paul Silbey (Stranger in the Woods); Nina Demarchi; and Line Producer Stephen Marinaccio (Jack Ryan, Ghosts of Beirut).
“Roel brings an extraordinary ability to combine cinematic scale with authentic, character-driven storytelling. His work creates immersive worlds while keeping audiences emotionally invested, and we could not imagine a more exciting filmmaker to bring Lunar Colony to life,” said Beninati
“The film imagines where today’s Artemis missions and renewed global race to the Moon could lead just a few decades from now, but at its heart is something timeless—a classic romance in the vein of Romeo and Juliet.”
Reiné, who previously explored the futuristic spaces worlds as one of the directors on the 2022-24 TV series Halo, said he had been drawn to the project for its human element.
“Underneath the scale of the science fiction, it is a deeply human story about freedom, love and the world we choose to leave behind. I want the Moon to feel completely real, beautiful, brutal and industrial; a civilization built for survival but not necessarily for freedom, while Earth, damaged and exploited, still holds something humanity has lost,” he said.
“At the center are Tiara and Josh, two people from opposite worlds whose connection challenges everything they have been taught. Visually, I want this film to feel epic and immersive, but always tactile, grounded and emotional. That contrast is what makes the world of Lunar Colony so exciting to me.”
Production is targeted for 2027, with principal casting currently underway.
Reiné is represented by David Saunders and Jack Leighton at IAG; Beninati, by Marilyn G. Haft Law, and Fukuji by Buchwald. Nina Demarchi and Ram Paul Silbey are represented by Centerboro Productions.
