Liv Tyler is reportedly set to star in an upcoming sci-fi film tentatively dubbed “The Side Effect.”
Helmed by writer-director Ti West, Tyler will play the role of Catherine Rigby, a woman who is hired to spend several months alone in space as an experimental subject for a global pharmaceutical company.
According to a brief synopsis obtained by Deadline, Tyler finds herself inexplicably pregnant during the experiment.
“Paranoia and hysteria” eventually kick in, as the truth behind the conception becomes more elusive and Tyler is forced to remain stranded in space.
Liv Tyler is obviously no stranger to genre films, having appeared in Lord of the Rings (LOTR), Robot And Frank (with Frank Langella and Susan Sarandon) and The Strangers.
For her part, Tyler referred to West as a “super-talented exciting young filmmaker,” saying the role of Rigby is a “fantastic character within a great thriller.”
Meanwhile, West went out of his way to reassure fans that he wasn’t abandoning his genre origins with The Side Effect.
“Although it is still somewhat of a horror film, it is much more psychological than any of my previous efforts,” he explained.
“It was essential that I find an actress who could portray a wide range of emotion and always earn the audience’s sympathy no matter what the situation. As soon as I sat down with Liv, it was obvious she was the one.”
The Side Effect will likely undergo a title change at some point to avoid confusion, as Steven Soderbergh is preparing to shoot a different film named “The Side Effects.”
Plot details have not yet been released for Soderbergh’s project (formerly titled “Bitter Pill”), but official casting announcements are expected within the coming weeks.
