Sky's adventure thriller Everest to shoot in Italy and the UK

Sky’s adventure film Everest, starring Ewan McGregor and Mark Strong, is set to shoot in Italy and the UK from January next year.

Based on a script from Academy Award nominee Sheldon Turner and inspired by novel Paths of Glory by bestselling author Jeffrey Archer, the film will depict George Mallory’s life-threatening attempts to scale the titular mountain; McGregor is playing Mallory with Juno Temple as his wife Ruth. Strong plays Arthur Hinks of the Royal Geographic Society who selects Mallory for the mission, while Heughan plays George Finch, an Australian rival of Mallory’s.

Jennifer Klein, whose credits include Pearl Harbor and Armageddon, will produce Everest alongside Liman.

Key crew include cinematographer Martin Ruhe, Oscar-winning composer T Bone Burnett and production designer Oliver Sholl.

Julia Stuart, director of Original Film at Sky, comments: “With Doug Liman and his team at the help and an all-star British cast including Ewan McGregor, Sam Heughan, Mark Strong and Juno Temple, Everest is a momentous title that will wow audiences in the UK & Ireland.”

Sky will distribute the film in cinemas and on its Sky Cinema channel as a Sky Original, with a UK-Ireland release scheduled for 2023. HanWay Films is handling international sales on the film, with UTA Independent Film Group on the US sale; it launched at the Pre-Cannes Screenings online market in June.