Riz Ahmed and Octavia Spencer to star in sci-fi thriller

Riz Ahmed and Octavia Spencer have signed on to star in sci-fi thriller Invasion.

The Venom actor and recent Emmy nominee will lead the Amazon Studios project, which will be directed by Michael Pearce, who won a BAFTA for his 2017 directorial debut Beast.

According to Deadline, Invasion, written by Pearce and Joe Barton, will follow two young brothers who go on the run with their father, a decorated Marine to be played by Ahmed, who is trying to protect them from an unhuman threat. As the journey takes them in increasingly dangerous and unexpected directions, the boys will need to confront hard truths and leave their childhood behind.

The project is being produced by Dimitri Doganis, Piers Vellacott, and Derrin Schlesinger from production banner Raw, as well as Daniel Battsek, Ollie Madden and Julia Oh from Film4, and Kate Churchill and Jenny Hinkey. It is planned to begin shooting in the U.S. later this year.

The British actor/rapper, best known for TV miniseries The Night Of, will soon be seen in Sound of Metal, in which he plays a heavy metal drummer, and Mogul Mowgli, which he co-wrote. Once film productions resume following the coronavirus pandemic, he will star in sci-fi Exit West and as Hamlet in a modern adaptation of the Shakespeare classic.

Oscar winner Spencer, who was nominated for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Emmy for her role in Self-Made: Inspired By The Life Of Madam CJ Walker this week, will next star alongside Anne Hathaway in The Witches, the movie adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel.