Rakuten and The H Collective have set Deadpool and Homeland star Morena Baccarin to lead survival thriller Beast for Oscar nominated Kon-Tiki co-director Espen Sandberg. Beast is the first film under the Rakuten H Collective Studio joint venture that was launched last August. Principal photography will begin in late March in New Zealand.

The story is based on Aaron W Sala’s Blacklist script, and is described as the hard-hitting tale of a woman who survives a plane crash and is stranded on a seemingly deserted island in the South Pacific. She must fight to get back to her children, face her inner demons and a real threat of unimaginable proportions.

Sherryl Clark and Kenneth Huang are producing for The H Collective alongside Rakuten Chairman and CEO Mickey Mikitani.

Sandberg, whose credits also include Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, says Beast merges horror, thriller, action and dramatic elements, with a strong female lead and important theme. It’s “a story about a woman that is forced to break out of her victim mentality by finding her inner strength and courage to fight for herself and reclaim her life.”

Baccarin is currently in post-production on STX thriller Greenland for director Ric Roman Waugh and starring Gerard Butler; and The Good House opposite Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline for Amblin Partners. She recently joined the cast of Season 2 of Twilight Zone for CBS All Access alongside Billy Porter, Jenna Elfman and Gillian Jacobs. She is repped by UTA and Seven Summits Pictures & Management. Sandberg is with UTA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Lindberg Management.