Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas to remake Enemy Mine

Filmmaker Terry Matalas, who is best known for helming the final season of Star Trek: Picard, is set to direct and write a remake of the 1985 film Enemy Mine which will be backed by 20th Century Studios.

The 1985 cult classic which starred Dennis Quaid and the late Louis Gossett Jr is based on Barry B. Longyear's 1979 novella featured in Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine.

In his first English-language picture, the original was directed by Wolfgang Petersen, who was also nominated for an Oscar for Das Boot and The NeverEnding Story. This will also be Matalas's first time authoring a feature.

The events of Enemy Mine take place in the distant future, when humanity and the reptile Drac species are engaged in an intergalactic conflict. However, they must set aside their biases in order to survive when human pilot Willis Davidge (Quaid) and alien fighter Jeriba Shigan (Gossett Jr.) crash-land on a barren, dangerous planet. Despite the fact that their differences may destroy them, they gradually develop an unusual bond that gets them over the difficulties the planet and its people present. When Drac is unable to care for his child any longer, Davidge is eventually requested to take care of him.

Originally budgeted at $17 million, the film ultimately cost more than $40 million after marketing costs were factored in, and was a box office failure during the 1985 holiday season, earning only a little over $12 million. But it later gained a cult following over time.

Apart from his work in Star Trek: Picard, Matalas co-created and served as the showrunner for 12 Monkeys series (2015–2018), which ran for four seasons. He was also a showrunner on the fourth season of MacGyver.(2020)