Sci-fi rom-coms are rare things. Some of the few examples include the much underrated time travel movie Happy accidents (2000), Scott pilgrim against the world (2010), and – if you really want to push the point – Groundhog Day, which celebrated its 30th anniversary earlier this year. This is a pity. If ever there were two genres that were crying out to be brought together, it’s science fiction and romantic comedy. After all, what could be more romantic than seeing the usual mix of comedic misunderstandings and embarrassing situations set against a backdrop of interstellar battles or dimension-jumping jiggery poker?
It is therefore good news that a new addition to the genre will soon appear on the silver screen. British movie Time stalker began shooting last year and features a stellar array of comedic acting talent and an intriguing storyline filled with both romantic and comedic possibilities. Here’s everything we know about the upcoming film so far.
Time stalker: Plot
Time stalker isn’t a time travel movie per se, but instead uses the trope of reincarnation to jump from one time period to another. Few details have been released about the plot, but the main character is Agnes, who is doomed to die and reincarnate every time she falls in love – with the “wrong” man. Expect visits to Jacobite-era Scotland, Georgian England, 1980s Manhattan – and a post-apocalyptic near future.
Time stalker: Cast
Time stalker is the brainchild of Alice Lowe, who also stars and directs. Lowe’s bona fide in British comedy is extensive; she first came to prominence in 2004 when she appeared as Liz in the off-the-wall sitcom Dark Place by Garth Marenghi. Set in a medical facility, the show managed to portray poorly made 1980s hospital soaps, melodramatic Twin Peaks-esque supernatural dramas and pompous, “how-we-made” retrospective documentaries at the same time.
Although it only ran for a single series and achieved modest ratings at best, the show catapulted its four white-coated young principals to stardom. Richard Ayoade soon starred in several hit comedies such as The It Crowd and built a second career as a successful film director, starring Matt Berry Toast from London and is in demand as a musician and as a voice actor (genre fans will be familiar with his voice work in Disillusionment, What we do in the shadowsand last in Boba Fett’s book).
Lowe, too, went from strength to strength after her big break. A regular on British comedy and sketch shows, appearances followed in high profile dramas such as Sherlock And Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.
In 2016, Lowe made her directorial debut with prevent, a comedy slasher film in which she stars as a heavily pregnant woman who becomes convinced that her unborn child is ordering her to go on a murder spree. Filmed in Wales while Lowe herself was pregnant, the edgy, low-budget feature film was a critical success factorpave the way for Time stalker.
Lowe has assembled an impressive cast for her latest project. Jacob Anderson, best known to the fantasy audience as Gray Worm, plays opposite her Game of Thrones and for sci-fi fans like Finder in Doctor who. But comedy fans will also recognize Nick Frost (Busy hassle, Shaun of the dead), who, like Lowe, broke into sitcoms on British TV’s Channel 4, co-starring with Simon Pegg in the cult hit Spaced apartand Tanya Reynolds, best known for her roles in Netflix’s Sex education and HBOs The baby.
Welsh actor Aneurin Barnard also stars. Barnard’s resume includes high-profile appearances in Peaky Blindersas well as supporting roles in films such as Christopher Nolan’s World War II epic Dunkirk (2017), by Armando Iannucci The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019) and biopic about Marie Curie Radioactive (2019). Another Peaky Blinders veteran, Scottish actor Kate Dickie, will also appear.
Dickie has also appeared Game of Thrones, Prometheus, The Green Knightand most recently in the second season of Disney+’s Marvel TV series Lokiwhich will drop later this year.
Timestalker: release date
As Netflix’s acquisition of the new Welsh language drama Dal Y Melt amply demonstrates, the TV and film industry in Wales is currently having a moment.
Time stalker is another example of the raw health of industry in the Celtic nation at the moment. As with Lowe’s directorial debut, Time stalker is being produced by Welsh film company Western Edge Pictures; Popcorn Group is a co-producer and the film is supported in part by the Welsh film development agency, Ffilm Cymru Wales.
Principal photography started in Wales last fall, with Vaughan Sivell producing. No UK release date for it Time stalker has yet to be announced, though it’s clear Western Edge is aiming for a later 2023 release.