Sandra Oh leads a Toronto-shot psychological thriller set to explore decades-old trauma, a Kentucky-based true story drama about resilience and redemption continues filming, and a NASA-era space program film prepares for production in Atlanta this fall.
Child’s Play
Rhombus Media is preparing to launch production on Child’s Play, a psychological thriller filming across Toronto and North Bay, Ontario beginning August 24, 2026. The feature is produced in partnership with Bankside Films and Elevation Pictures, underscoring a strong Canada–UK co-production structure.
Directed by acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Wang Xiaoshuai and written by Hannah Moscovitch, the film follows Marlene Lee, a politician forced to confront a buried incident from her youth at an all-white girls’ summer camp in 1983. Decades later, as she nears electoral victory, her past resurfaces in a way that threatens both her career and personal identity.
Sandra Oh leads the cast, anchoring a story that blends psychological drama with political thriller elements. Production is expected to take advantage of Toronto’s established urban infrastructure for contemporary sequences, while North Bay provides more isolated, period-appropriate locations for the film’s 1980s flashbacks.
With casting led by John Buchan and Jason Knight, and producers including Niv Fichman, Mike Goodridge, Liu Xuan, and Stephen Kelliher, the project reflects continued international collaboration in Canadian feature filmmaking. Ontario’s tax incentives and experienced crew base remain a key driver in attracting mid-to-high budget psychological dramas of this scale.
Ethan Almighty
True-story feature Ethan Almighty is currently in production across multiple Kentucky locations, including Bardstown, Louisville, and Frankfort, with filming centered around the Kentucky State Capitol. The film is directed, written, and produced by Tané McClure, who adapts the real-life story of Jeff Callaway and his bond with Ethan, a severely abused rescue dog found near death at the Kentucky Humane Society in 2021.
The project features a notable ensemble cast including Sean Patrick Flanery as Callaway, alongside Selma Blair, Brandon Routh, Trevor Donovan, Kelly Sullivan, and Finley Rose Slater. Recent additions include Kelsey Grammer, who portrays the Governor of Kentucky.
Produced by McClure Films in collaboration with Light Year Pictures, Harrington Legacy Media, and Hollywood Expansion Corporation, the film has secured worldwide distribution through Arclight Films. That early sales commitment reflects strong international interest in faith-adjacent, animal-rescue-driven true-story dramas, a genre that continues to perform well in both theatrical and streaming markets.
Kentucky’s increasing appeal as a production hub is also evident here, with Bardstown and Frankfort offering both small-town authenticity and access to government interiors, including the state capitol building, which is featured prominently in the production.
Atmosphere
Laika Entertainment is expanding into live-action prestige filmmaking with Atmosphere, a NASA-era drama set to begin production on October 19, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. The film is produced by Travis Knight, Matt Levin, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Brad Mendelsohn, and Jeremy Kipp Walker, with a screenplay by Oscar-nominated duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.
The story follows Joan Goodwin, a reserved Rice University professor selected for NASA’s first class of female shuttle scientists in 1980. As she trains for spaceflight, she discovers friendship, love, and a renewed sense of identity within a male-dominated program—mirroring broader historical shifts in the U.S. space agency during the early Space Shuttle era.
Travis Knight’s involvement signals a notable step for Laika into grounded, live-action historical drama, while maintaining the studio’s reputation for emotionally driven storytelling. Production partners include Big Indie Pictures and Circle M+P, adding further industry weight behind the project.
Atlanta continues to serve as a major production base for period and space-related storytelling due to its competitive incentives, experienced crew infrastructure, and access to large studio facilities capable of supporting NASA-era recreations. The film joins a growing slate of aerospace-themed projects reflecting renewed audience interest in space exploration narratives.
