Tau Ceti Foxtrot is the latest science fiction action movie from one of my favorite directors John McTiernan. It follows the adventures of three mercenaries on an alien planet ruled by evil warlords. Since the original title for the movie was Tau Ceti Four, we can expect they’ll get some help from the local population. In case you’re not familiar with John McTiernan’s work, he’s the guy behind such hits as Predator, Die Hard, and The 13th Warrior. This is the first movie he’s directing since the 2003 military thriller Basic starring Samuel L. Jackson. I’m hoping we’re going to see another return to excellence from an aging director. Just like we did with George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road.
The cast of Tau Ceti Foxtrot is quite formidable with Travis Fimmel (Vikings) and Uma Thurman (Pulp Fiction) already signed on to the project. Laurence Fishburne could be the third mercenary although we’re still waiting for his confirmation. According to the rumors circulating the Internet, the script has been done for quite some time. The production ran into problems when the COVID pandemic hit. Everything had to be put on hold as the studios could not count on the box office returns. Three years later, it would appear that we’re getting closer to the start of actual filming.
The artwork you can see above is reminiscent of classic Western movies with an Asian twist. McTiernan says that the movie will basically be “Fistful of Dollars on another planet”. The planet is located in the Tau Ceti system, some 12 lightyears away from Earth. He said this during an interview just a couple of months ago while visiting The Fantastic Film Festival of Brussels. This is apparently going to be a European production with the shooting taking place there as well. The initial location they’ve chosen was Serbia although that’s not sure anymore. The filming of the latest Hellraiser remake took place in Serbia, making the most of their budget.
This is not the only movie he’s going to be making in the near future. He also wants to shoot a new adaptation of Ghost in a Machine. Judging by the artwork, it looks awfully like the frenetic post-apocalyptic experience that is Mad Max: Fury Road. Is it just me or Tau Ceti Foxtrot seems to be also going in a Warhammer 40k direction? It just has that Chaos vibe especially with those people tortured on wheels. Although that’s just my wishful thinking while I wait for the new Henry Cavill’s Warhammer 40K movie. Finally, while we wait for this movie, you can check out John Carter, featuring a similar story.
