Irish actors Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal will co-star in an upcoming science fiction feature from Garth Davis.

Davis previously directed the Oscar-nominated feature 'Lion' and Rooney Mara starrer 'Mary Magdalene'. He's also directing 'Tron 3'.

The director's next feature will also star Lakeith Stanfield, whose credits include 'Atlanta', 'Sorry to Bother You' and 'Get Out'.

Davis co-wrote the script for the movie, which is called 'Foe', with Iain Reid. Reid also wrote the bestselling sci fi novel on which the movie is based.

Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan play Junior and Hen, a young couple who have been married for seven years. They live a solitary life on their isolated farm.

One night, a stranger named Terrance (Stanfield) arrives to tell them that Junior has been randomly selected to travel to a large, experimental space station orbiting Earth.

Hen won't be left alone though as arrangements have been made for her. She will have familiar company that pushes her to make a life-changing decision.

Garth Davis told Deadline that when he read 'Foe', he "could not put it down" and that doing a sci-fi feature was "always on [his] bucket list."

He said: "It’s incredibly suspenseful, very moving and dealt with sci-fi in a most grounded way that spoke to where we are heading as a society, with a lot of the questions we all have, explored in a profound way.

"And the love story just broke my heart, this story of self-determination, fighting for the things that are most precious in our lives, and reminding audiences that this time we have here is precious and the way we treat each other is the way we need to be treating the planet."

On casting Saoirse Ronan, the director said: "What I love about Saoirse is, you see her on screen and she is just so unfiltered and alive. She represents to me all the things we need to protect in the world. Putting her in the belly of this suspenseful and uneasy story is the whole point.

"What she represents is precious, she’s an empath. She fights for the things we all should be fighting for. I was looking for an actress who just had those qualities, and that beauty."

On Paul Mescal, Davis said: "he is just a normal guy and you believe he’s married to her and that they come from the same part of the world, which they do in reality. I buy them as a rural couple."

'Foe' will be shopped at the upcoming Cannes Virtual Market.