Cold Storage: Everything We Know About The Upcoming Book Adaptation

If you are looking for an upcoming book-to-screen adaptation written by one of the most well-known screenwriters-turned-authors on the planet, features massive stars, and has a thrilling story about a mysterious organism that could wipe out humanity, we have a movie you won’t want to miss. At some point in the near future, we’ll all get to see the movie adaptation of David Koepp's book Cold Storage. This upcoming thriller sounds like a throwback to great ‘90s movies like 12 Monkeys and Outbreak.

If this is the first you’re hearing about StudioCanal’s long-in-the-works project, worry not, because we are about to break down everything we know about the movie so far, including its cast, the story, and the book on which it is based. There’s a lot to unpack, so let’s get started with Cold Storage. 

What Is The Cold Storage Release Date?

StudioCanal has yet to announce a release date for Cold Storage, so we don’t know when the upcoming thriller will hit the big screen. 

It could randomly pop up on the 2024 movie calendar, but at the same time, it could also come out sometime later down the road. This shouldn't be a sign of confirmation or anything like that, but the movie’s IMDB page has a 2025 release date while a listing page on Plex has a release date of June 12, 2025 (this should be taken with a grain of salt because that is a Thursday).

We’ll make sure to keep you updated on the Cold Storage release date as official information is released. Until then, check out what else we know about the movie…

Liam Neeson And Joe Keery Lead The Cold Storage Cast

The character names haven’t been released at the time of this writing, but the Cold Storage cast is shaping up to be an ensemble of great stars, to say the very least. In 2022, StudioCanal announced that Liam Neeson and Joe Keery would be leading the cast. Neeson, who has only one Oscar nomination despite having a ton of great performances, most recently appeared in Wildcat and In the Land of Saints and Sinners. Keery, who is set to appear in the fifth and final season of Stranger Things at some point in 2025, has been on a run the past few years thanks to the popular Netflix series, the Fargo TV show, and movies like Free Guy.

In October 2022, Deadline reported that Georgina Campbell, the star of Barbarian, one of the best horror movies in recent memory, would be joining Neeson and Keery in the sci-fi thriller. A few months later, in March 2023, Deadline published a follow-up report in which it was revealed that Smile star Sosie Bacon and Lesley Manville were also set to appear in the upcoming thriller. Again, we don’t know who everyone is playing, but those details should become less murky in the coming weeks and months. 

Cold Storage Centers Around A Deadly Organism And The Race To Save Humanity

The movie centers around a constantly mutating micro-organism that was locked in the belly of a military facility. But when the government sells the building to a self-storage company and the underground temperatures start to rise, so too does the risk of the destructive organism escaping and bringing an extinction-level event.

Cold Storage will follow a retired bioterror operative (could this be Liam Neeson’s role?) and two employees of the facility (possibly Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell) as they find themselves in a race against time to save the world from coming to an end. 

Cold Storage Is Based On David Koepp’s Debut Novel Of The Same Name

Fans of great ‘90s sci-fi movies like Jurassic Park, the first Mission: Impossible movie, and 2002’s Spider-Man are in for a treat as not only did those films' screenwriter, David Koepp, pen the Cold Storage script, the movie is based on his 2019 novel of the same name. Much like the case with Michael Crichton and Jurassic Park, the rights for Koepp’s debut novel were picked up well before the book was published, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

As detailed in the brief description on David Koepp’s website, the book follows Roberto Diaz, a bio-terror operative who contains a deadly micro-organism deep underground only to discover decades later that it has found a way to escape. With the help of two security guards, Diaz sets out the end this once and for all. In its book review, the New York Times called Cold Storage “pure, unadulterated entertainment,” which is honestly what we should expect from a story from a screenwriter-turned-author like Koepp. 

The Movie Is Being Directed By Jonny Campbell

StudioCanal has announced that Jonny Campbell will be directing Cold Storage. Though his name may not be as recognizable as David Koepp, Campbell is more than up to the task of leading the project based on his various TV credits. These include everything from episodes of Westworld and Doctor Who and The Casual Vacancy to Am I Being Unreasonable?, to name only a few. This will only be Campbell’s second feature film, with the first being the 2006 sci-fi comedy Alien Autopsy.

Production On Cold Storage Got Underway In March 2023

Production on Cold Storage got underway in March 2023, as shown in a post by the StudioCanal Instagram account. The photo, which appears to be in Rome, based on the information written on the clapper, showed a busy car-lined street but nothing more. The Deadline article detailing the final casting additions stated that the shoot was slated to take place in Italy and Morroco.

It is not known if production was able to wrap by the time the 2023 WGA Writers and SAG-AFTRA strikes started in May and July 2023, respectively, as no one from the production has shared any additional details since the work stoppages came to an end. We’ll make sure to keep you updated as more information becomes available. 

While we wait for more information about Cold Storage, its release date, and more about its cast, now is a good time to take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of the best sci-fi movies of all time or watch some classics for the first time.