Just days after completing the first-ever feature film shot in space, the movie’s director now has set a target even further into the cosmos. Klim Shipenko, the Russian director of the film “The Challenge,” which was shot aboard the orbital outpost, told the media that he wants to shoot a sequel of the film on Moon or Mars, reports Reuters.

The filmmaker and the actress Yulia Peresild and cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, returned to Earth, where rest of the film was shot immediately after they landed. “We’re ready,” Shipenko told Reuters. “We believe space cinema should be filmed in space. If it’s about the Moon, let’s go to the Moon, if it’s Mars, let’s go to Mars.” He added, “Why not? Why should cinema be filmed in a studio?”

Struggles of filming in space

While there wasn’t a lot of information about the production aboard the ISS, Shipenko did divulge into the struggles they faced with shooting in space, saying it showed him methods of making a film.

 “Some scenes that I imagined one way on Earth came together completely differently,” he said. “People can be face to face [in space] but one of them is head up and the other is horizontal and the camera can be on a different plane, and that transforms your consciousness completely.”

“For me it was a cinematic discovery, to realize scenes in a completely different way in three or four planes,” he added. 

Putting Russia ahead of the US

The mission has put Russia ahead of the US in terms of shooting a film in orbit, but it’s unclear how much motivation came from wanting to wear that crown. Shooting a movie in space will provide a more authentic portrayal of life in orbit compared to other science-fiction films.

The plot of the film involves the protagonist performing surgery in space, which is something that’s only done on animals for the sake of experiments in orbit. It’s unclear how the setup for a fictional surgery would look like – or if those scenes will be filmed on a set on Earth – but it will be interesting to see.