London film studio reveals ambitious plans to broadcast from space by 2024
A London entertainment studio has ambitious plans to film the first-ever movie in space – which could come to fruition before the end of the decade.
Space Entertainment Enterprise (SEE) is currently co-producing Tom Cruise’s upcoming space movie with Hollywood veteran Doug Liman.
Alongside production, Southwark-based SEE has revealed plans to launch a micro-gravity film and TV production and broadcast module, known as SEE-1, which would be fitted onto a new commercial space station made by Axiom Space in late 2024.
The Axiom Station will first dock onto the International Space Station (ISS), before orbiting on its own in 2028.
“SEE-1 is an incredible opportunity for humanity to move into a different realm and start an exciting new chapter in space,” co-founders and co-CEOs Dmitry and Elena Lesnevsky said in a joint statement.
“It will provide a unique, and accessible home for boundless entertainment possibilities in a venue packed with innovative infrastructure which will unleash a new world of creativity.”
The space-studio is also expected to have a sports arena, as well as a separate area for streaming content.
‘Breath-taking impact’
While the plans appear far-fetched, Axiom Space has already established itself as a critical cog in the sector, with partnerships with NASA for private astronaut missions to the ISS.
Axiom chief engineer Dr. Michael Baine explained that the SEE-1 will showcase the “space environment in an unprecedented way”.
“The inflatable module design provides for around six meters diameter of unobstructed pressurised volume, which can be adapted to a range of activities – including an onboard state-of-the-art media production capability that will capture and convey the experience of weightlessness with breath-taking impact,” he added.
SEE has also studded its C-suite with executives from across the entertainment industry, such as joint chief operating officer and chief financial officer Richard Johnston, the former CEO of Endemol Shine UK – the production company behind British favourites like Peaky Blinders, Black Mirror, Big Brother and Masterchef.
Johnston said: “From Jules Verne to Star Trek, science fiction entertainment has inspired millions of people around the world to dream about what the future might bring. Creating a next generation entertainment venue in space opens countless doors to create incredible new content and make these dreams a reality.”
Former Nickelodeon executive Remi Abayomi has also been appointed chief technology officer, while its strategy chief Mark Taffet previously spent 25 years at HBO.
If it remains on course, SEE-1 could be the world’s first entertainment production studio to exit and operate in space. Though Cruise will be the Western media’s second actor to be launched into Earth’s orbit, after 90-year-old Star Trek actor William Shatner.