Berlin: The $25m Chinese-Finnish/Canadian co-production will be directed by the creator of the sci-fi franchise Timo Vuorensola.

The mega-project launched yesterday in Berlin will be produced by China Film Corporation, Jiabo Culture Development Co. Ltd, Finland’s Iron Sky Universe, in association with Pan Pan Pictures Co Ltd and Canada’s Longevity International Enterprises. It will be the third film in the Iron Sky saga after the 2012 original cult movie Iron Sky and its sequel Iron Sky: The Coming Race, set to open at the end of the year.

Iron Sky: The Ark is written by Dalan Musson (Iron Sky The Coming Race) together with Chinese producer Max Wang (Wolf Totem), Timo Vuorensola and Hongyang Yu. Max Wang, Tero Kaukomaa (co-founder of Iron Sky Universe with Vuorensola) and May He of Longevity Enterprises are producing.

Filming is scheduled to start in October, with Oscar-winning VFX company Pixomondo on board. The film tells a story of two Chinese university dropout audiophiles who set out on a quest to decode a mysterious message received from the Moon, but find themselves fighting against the mother of all conspiracy theories – the secret organization Illuminati. The visual effects will be produced by the Oscar-winning VFX house Pixomondo.

Max Wang said: “Iron Sky: The Ark is about humans on earth facing environmental disaster searching for the Ark of Rescue to the Moon! But where is the Ark? How to find it? We hope audiences leave the cinema with a small Ark in each person’s heart.”

Kaukomaa added: “We’re looking forward to sharing the Iron Sky franchise with the Chinese audience. The Ark is a major step for us in our global mission.”

Watch the teaser here: http://www.ironsky.net/theark/