The brilliantly named Ruairi Robinson, director of the acclaimed robot short BLINKY™ (watch the teaser below), is set to helm a new sci-fi feature film from producers Qwerty Films (SEVEREANCE) and some guy who was once a writer for THE BILL.

THE LAST DAYS ON MARS is based on a screenplay by the aforementioned Clive Dawson, and will have effects provided by WETA (DISTRICT 9, LORD OF THE RINGS) so at least it will look good. The film is currently in pre-production and is expected to shoot in Shepperton Studios right here in blighty as well as on location in Jordan.

The plot revolves around the end of a manned mission to the red planet and an astronaut crew about to make a major breakthrough. They discover a microscopic life form that re-animates the corpse of a dead astronaut who fell to his death. Cue much violence and shouting probably.

Hopefully there is something a bit more original with the plot and they aren’t revealing everything right now. Nobody really wants another PITCH BLACK or THE THING retread.

(Here’s that BLINKY™ trailer we promised, if you manage to find the full version online anywhere please give us a shout!)