Chris Pratt & Jennifer Lawrence sci-fi film finally greenlit

Sony has been umming and aahing these past few weeks over an expensive new mix of science fiction and romance, in the form of the film Passengers. The movie has been pretty much ready to go, with both Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt taking the leading roles. Furthermore, The Imitation Game's Morten Tyldum is set to direct the film. But Sony had been holding back giving the film the official go ahead.

The problem has been the cost of it. An expensive movie to make even before the acting talent concerned is taken into account, Jennifer Lawrence alone is said to be adding some $20 million to the bill of Passengers. Furthermore, Chris Pratt's asking price is said to be at least $10 million.

At least it was. Following the gigantic opening of Jurassic World over the weekend, now the biggest opening for a movie ever, Pratt's price has gone up another $2 million apparently. And thus Sony bosses were coming to crunch point, and had to decide if they wanted to gamble so much money on a non-franchise blockbuster (potentially losing it to another studio).

Now the news reaches us that the studio has indeed gone for it, and has finally given Passengers the go ahead.

The film itself is set to be a love story that's set on a spaceship in the future. The basic premise of the film sees Pratt's character waking up from cryosleep 90 years too early, with the thousands of other people on board still snoozing. Rather than growing old alone, he opts to wake another passenger up, and that's where Jennifer Lawrence comes in.

Passengers is set to cost Sony around $120 million at least just to make, and Lawrence apparently has profit points too. So it's not a small gamble for the studio, although that Jurassic World opening is said to have greased the wheels. Here's hoping this one comes off, then. We'd rather have something like this than a tired sequel.

More on Passengers as we hear it.

THR.