A giant banner stretches across one of the waterfront hotels here in San Diego that advertises a film that no one’s ever heard of before.

This isn’t the intentional mystery of J.J. Abrams or a struggling project trying to get some recognition. It’s somewhere in between. 

From the towering advertisement, you wouldn’t be able to tell much about it except that it looks digitally animated, has two figures looking dangerously upward, and it’s called Skyline. 

So what is it? 

Drew at HitFix is going to be moderating a panel for the film, so he was able to pry a few details out of Universal: 

In the sci-fi thriller Skyline, strange lights descend on the city of Los Angeles, drawing people outside like moths to a flame where an extraterrestrial force threatens to swallow the entire human population off the face of the Earth.

Skyline is directed and produced by the Brothers Strause, whose company Hydraulx has provided visual effects for Avatar, Iron Man 2, The Curious Case of Benhamin Button and 300. 

You might not recognize the names Colin and Greg Strause, but they’re the brothers who directed Alien vs Predator: Requiem. That’s all they’ve ever directed, and it’s definitely not an auspicious start. However, we’re going to keep a close Comic-Con eye on this one because the optimist at work here hopes for something truly inspiring. The premise is thin (and there’s not much information there to go on in the first place), and the cast is strange (to say the least), but it’s the Hydraulx name that’s adding some weight to the equation.