French film icon Claire Denis will direct an untitled sci-fi adventure set in a “future that seems like the present” based on a screenplay by Zadie Smith and her husband Nick Laird.

The project will be Denis’ first English-language film and Smith’s first script. Plot details are scarce, but it has been revealed that the setting will be beyond our solar system. The film’s premise is based on an original idea by Denis and her writing partner Jean-Pol Fargeau.

“I am delighted that Claire has been tempted to cross the channel and make a film in English,” said producer Oliver Dungey. “She is one of the greats of contemporary cinema, and she’s assembled a quite extraordinary team to make exactly the kind of ambitious film that audiences cherish — completely original, genuinely pushing the boundaries of art and science and, above all, extremely entertaining.”

Shooting is to begin in late 2015 or early 2016.

[via Screen Daily]