Liv Tyler Heads To Space In Ti West's Thriller

Liv Tyler as Betty Ross in The Incredible Hulk
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Fans of the Tylers can catch can Steven on tonight’s Season 11 premiere of American Idol. Meanwhile, Liv Tyler is reportedly headed to Sundance for the debut of the film Robot and Frank. And from the sound of this casting news, the Aerosmith rocker’s daughter, well known for playing the Half-elven beauty Arwen in the Lord of the Rings films, among other parts, will also be visiting space, or her character will in a Ti West thriller.

Deadline shared the news on Ti West’s The Side Effect. The writer/director, whose recent work includes The Innkeepers, is also headed to Utah for Sundance, where he’s set to debut the found-footage horror he co-directed (with five other credited directors) V/H/S. West’s next thriller is The Side Effect, a title which likely ties into the involvement of a pharmaceutical company in the premise of the film.

Per Deadline, West describes the film as “much more psychological” than any of his previous efforts. Liv Tyler will play Catherine Rigby (sounds kind of like Ripley...), a woman who goes to space for several months to wait in solitude as part of a experiment set up by a global pharmaceutical company. Things take a turn at some point when she finds herself “inexplicably pregnant.” Paranoia and hysteria ensue, which is to be expected in such circumstances, especially assuming the question of who (or what) the father is comes into play.

We know Tyler has been to Middle Earth, but has she ever been to space before? Unless I’m forgetting a previous role (and feel free to correct me if I am), the closest she may have come was in her role in Armageddon, however Grace was one of the few leads that didn’t board a spaceship on a world-saving, astroid-destroying mission. It sounds like The Side Effect will give her the opportunity to “travel” to space in a role, but from the sound of it, the experience won’t be something to celebrate.

Kelly West
Assistant Managing Editor

Kelly joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006 and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before moving over to other roles on the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing feature content on the site. She an expert in all things Harry Potter, books from a variety of genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror, YA, drama, romance -- anything with a great story and interesting characters.), watching Big Brother, frequently rewatching The Office, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing The Sims.