In the Lost Lands is a 2025 dark fantasy epic film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, with a screenplay by Constantin Werner from a story they both co-wrote. Based on the short story of the same name by George R. R. Martin, the film stars Milla Jovovich and Dave Bautista as a witch and a hunter, respectively, who venture into a dangerous land to retrieve an ancient artifact for a queen. A queen, desperate for happiness in love, makes a bold move: she sends the powerful and terrifying witch Gray Alys to the “Lost Lands” to give her the magical gift of being transformed into a werewolf. Aided by the mysterious hunter Boyce in her fight against dark creatures and ruthless enemies, Gray Alys wanders through a strange and dangerous world. And only she knows that every wish she grants has unimaginable consequences
In February 2015, it was announced that Constantin Werner had purchased the rights to three short stories by George R. R. Martin:[9] “The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr”, “In the Lost Lands”, and “Bitterblooms”. Werner planned to adapt all three into a single film with Milla Jovovich as Gray Alys and Justin Chatwin as Boyce. This film version never came to fruition and the project fell into limbo.
In 2021, the film was re-directed by Jovovich’s husband Paul W. S. Anderson, with whom he had collaborated on the Resident Evil series, The Three Musketeers (2011) and Monster Hunter (2020). Dave Bautista replaced Chatwin as Boyce, while Werner served as co-writer and producer.[6][10] According to Werner, the film was scheduled to begin filming in late 2021 or early 2022, but was delayed until late 2022.[11] In an August 2022 interview before filming began, Anderson described the film as a “Western”, saying:
At its core, it really is a Western because it has all the symbols that people associate with a Western. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic world, so on the surface it’s not a Western, but at its core it’s definitely a Western. It touches on a lot of the tropes, the storytelling, and the imagery of Westerns, so I was excited to do it.
