Small Prophets and The Office legend's new film with Mr Bates vs The Post Office favourite release first-look images

Two first-look images have been released for upcoming film Mars Express – which marks the feature directorial debut of Mackenzie Crook.

The film – which has just wrapped production – will reunite Crook with his Detectorists co-star Toby Jones, while there are also key roles in the cast for the likes of Emily Watson and Rob Delaney.

The film will tell the "extraordinary true story of Colin and Judith Pillinger" scientists who made it their mission to find life on Mars, with Jones and Watson playing the married couple.

One of the two new images (above) shows the pair in character as they look up at something in the sky, while the other (below) shows Crook on set in his role as director.

Other stars in the supporting cast include Nicholas Burns (Nathan Barley), Richard Coyle (The Other Bennet Sister), Thaddea Graham (Margo’s Got Money Troubles), David Dencik (Clayface), Julian Rhind-Tutt (Unforgotten), and Oscar-winning filmmaker and actor Fisher Stevens (Succession).

The official synopsis reads: "Mid-90s Britain. Planetary scientists Professor Colin Pillinger and his wife Doctor Judith Pillinger set out to build the Beagle 2 probe to go to Mars in search of organic life.

"With his mutton chops and strong West Country accent, Colin was an unlikely scientific hero. He and Judith owned an idyllic farm in the English countryside where they kept dairy cattle and other assorted animals.

"With little previous experience of building a space craft, they pulled together a team of mavericks who took on NASA and almost won."

The film was written by Joe Bone (The Vanishing), based on Colin Pillinger’s book My Life On Mars: The Beagle 2 Diaries and will also include a soundtrack of Britpop classics.

Want to see this content?

This page contains content provided by Google reCAPTCHA. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as Google reCAPTCHA may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, choose 'Accept and continue' to allow Google reCAPTCHA and its required purposes.

In a statement, Crook called it a "funny, poignant and inspiring film", explaining: "It's a complete honour to be telling the extraordinary story of Colin Pillinger and Beagle 2 for my first feature film as director,.

"Joe Bone's beautiful script has made it easy to attract some of the best names in the business to join our brilliantly creative team and I'm thrilled to be working once again with my friend Toby Jones."

Crook first found fame as an actor for his role as Gareth Keenan in The Office and then Ragetti in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, while he also played the role of Orell in Game of Thrones.

In more recent years he has emerged as one of the country's finest writers and directors on the small screen thanks to his work on Detectorists, Worzel Gummidge and Small Prophets – so it will be fascinating to see him make the leap to the big screen.

No release date has been announced for the project at this stage, but we'll keep you updated as and when we hear anything.

Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

Authors

Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.