Lucy Hale To Star As An Antarctica Scientist Battling An Evil Entity In ‘White Mars’; XYZ Launches For AFM With Filming This Month At Cinecittà

EXCLUSIVE: Truth Or Dare and Scream 4 star Lucy Hale is set to channel Alien‘s Ellen Ripley and The Thing‘s R. J MacReady in sci-fi-thriller White Mars.

Set in an isolated Aquila Research Facility in Antarctica, White Mars follows microbiologist Sammie (Hale), as she fights to save her fellow crew members from a malevolent entity whose sole intention is to extinguish them all.

Martin Owen (Above The Below) is directing from a script by Matt Mitchell, Vicki Sargent, and Roo Berry. The film is set to start principal photography on November 11, 2024, at Cinecittà Studios in Rome and will be shot entirely in a virtual production environment.

Future Artists Entertainment’s Matt Williams will produce alongside Neil Jones with Steve Griffith and Steve Jelley from Singularity Entertainment. XYZ Films is co-financing with Singularity and is handling worldwide sales at this week’s American Film Market.

White Mars is the first feature to be announced for Singularity, an entertainment company “specializing in virtual production and streamlined processes for independent films”.

Pretty Little Liars actress Hale most recently starred in Hulu’s #1 hit movie Which Brings Me To You and the romantic comedy Puppy Love. Previously she starred in The Hating Game based on the hit novel and the AMC crime series, Ragdoll.

Owen is in post-production on Above The Below, starring Idris Elba, which he co-directed with Elba.

Lucy Hale said: “White Mars is an absolute psychological thrill ride, and I’m so excited to film this at the Cinecittà film stages in Rome. At the heart of this story is Sammie, a character I truly admire for her resilience and strength. I can’t wait to collaborate with Martin Owen, our incredible cast, and the entire team to bring this story to life.”

Matt Williams added: “I am excited for this to be the first of a multi-slate of films with the team at XYZ and Singularity. Together we will be bringing technologically advanced movie making to the independent market to compete visually with high end studio films. We are thrilled that Lucy is joining us on this action-packed sci-fi adventure as her character battles the sinister forces that threaten us all.”

XYZ’s recent sales slate includes Flesh of the Gods starring Kristen Stewart and Oscar Isaac, He Bled Neon with Joe Cole and Rita Ora, Kill Me with Allison Williams and Charlie Day, and Free Fall starring Zachary Levi.

Hale is repped by CAA and Reel Talent Management.