It was announced in July 2014 that Warner Bros. was in negotiations to acquire a pitch from the team behind Focus Features' sci-fi thriller The Signal (2014). Titled TauTona, the project chronicles a dangerous rescue operation at the world's deepest gold mine in South Africa that turns into something much bigger when an ancient lost city is discovered. William Eubank, Carlyle Eubank and David Frigerio are writing. William Eubank is attached to direct the thriller with a sci-fi twist.
TauTona is a real-life mine. At nearly 2.5 miles deep, it is one of the deepest on Earth.