The Hating Game’s Lucy Hale has been hard at work, staring in a handful of rom-coms for some of the best streaming services recently. Now, she’s set to return to the big screen with the release of the sci-fi thriller White Mars. No stranger to thrillers, considering she’s best known for Pretty Little Liars (which she almost didn’t star in), it is weird that Hale is moving away from rom-coms for this project, especially considering her co-star is Bridgerton‘s Luke Newton.
It’s been reported by Deadline that Newton is set to join the Ragdoll star in White Mars. The sci-fi thriller will follow Sammie (Hale) and Leo (Newton) as they team up to save their fellow crew members at an isolated Aquilla Research Facility whose lives are being threatened by an entity that wishes to extinguish them all.
Given Newton’s history with Netflix’s Bridgerton and being one-half of Season 3’s leading couple, and Hale’s history with rom-coms, it’s surprising that the first time these two are teaming up is for something wildly different than the genres they’ve found success in recently. That’s not to say that White Mars won’t have any romantic elements in it, but as of now, it seems like the film is going to stay within the confines of the sci-fi/thriller genres.
In fact, White Mars seems to be doubling down on the sci-fi elements by shooting the entire film in a virtual production environment. While it’s not uncommon for movies to rely on virtual production technologies, the film will be joining the ranks of Jon Favreau’s The Lion King in being shot exclusively with the technology. Whether that’ll be a good thing or not remains to be seen, but with Hale and Newton on the job, fans can rest assured that the acting will be fantastic.
As interesting as the film seems, I still can’t help but be a bit bummed that the first time these two stars are teaming up isn’t for a swoon-worthy rom-com. There’s always hope that this film will lead to them working together again, though. After all, it’s not unheard of for actors to do multiple unrelated movies together — especially when it comes to rom-coms. So, I’ll be crossing my fingers it happens one day, because I know it’ll be one of the best rom-coms of all time.
Until then, fans can get their rom-com fix in by watching Hale and Newton’s other projects — although it will take a handful of streaming service subscriptions to get the job done. Hale’s The Hating Game and most recent romcom, Which Brings Me To You, are both available with a Hulu subscription. As for Newton, fans can stream the first three seasons of Bridgerton with a Netflix subscription, but it’s Season 3 that’ll give you the best taste of his rom-com potential. And don’t forget to keep an eye out for any news on Season 4 and their new movie White Mars.