Skydance has picked up The Gorge, a spec script by Zach Dean, the writer behind the company’s upcoming Chris Pratt sci-fi tentpole, The Tomorrow War.
The deal a preemptive move and the deal said to be in the high-six figure range.
Logline details are being kept hidden but it is described as a high-action, genre- bending love story about two young people, who despite the corrupt and lethal world they operate in, find a soulmate in each other during a dangerous assignment.
David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger are producing for Skydance with Matt Grimm shepherding the project for the studio. Dean will also produce as will Adam Kolbrenner, who is a producer on Tomorrow War as well as the upcoming Free Guy.
Dean’s Tomorrow War is a sci-fi action thriller with a time travel bent and stars Pratt along with Betty Gilpin and J.K. Simmons. The movie, directed by Chris McKay, is currently in post-production with a July 23, 2021 release date from Paramount.
Both Tomorrow War and Gorge are original ideas and began life as specs, showing there is at least some life to new concepts in an industry that is preoccupied with recycling and reboots.
Skydance is coming off one of its strongest periods, having been behind Netflix’s big-budget action movies 6 Underground and The Old Guard, both of which became two of the top six most streamed movies for the digital giant. On top of Tomorrow War, Skydance is involved in next year’s Paramount’s Without Remorse, Snake Eyes, and Top Gun: Maverick.
Dean is repped by Lit Entertainment Group and attorney Andrew Hurwritz.
