Joel Kinnaman lands lead role in thriller as production confirmed for Australia

Joel Kinnaman has landed the lead role in They Found Us, an alien abduction thriller to be directed for AGC Studios and Temple Hill by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Neill Blomkamp (District 9). The film heads into production in Australia later this year. 

They Found Us is being fully financed by AGC Studios, Stuart Ford’s fast-growing independent content studio. Jeremy Slater, best known for Moon Knight, Fantastic Four, and The Umbrella Academy, will pen the original screenplay.

The story follows a father (played by Kinnaman) and his daughter Kaylee as they undertake a camping trip in the Utah wilderness to heal their broken relationship. After being attacked by a hostile extraterrestrial lifeform, their lives — not just their relationship — wind up at stake, as they fight with a humanoid beast to stop their abduction to an unknown and terrifying alien world.

Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen will produce the film for Temple Hill Entertainment (Smile, the Twilight franchise), with Ford and Hill executive producing. 

In a statement, Ford said: "We're delighted to extend our relationship with Neill, who is a master of the sci-fi and horror genres. Jeremy Slater's taut terrifying screenplay is a perfect match for Neill's visual talents and the proven audience-pleasing instincts of our partners at Temple Hill."

Godfrey added: "We’re so excited to be working with Neill and Joel and everyone at AGC to bring They Found Us to life. The otherworldly horror and breathless suspense at the centre of Jeremy's script is merely the backdrop for an all too relatable and emotional story of a father and teenage daughter grappling with their differences and working through their estrangement.”