UPDATE (4 May 2015) – It is reported that Warner Bros. outbid Sony for the rights after “spirited” discussion and now the project is on. ( Source)
Channing Tatum (Jupiter Ascending, G.I. Joe) is reportedly attached to Joe Haldemann’s Forever War project according to sources at Hollywood. Originally, Ridley Scott was interested to direct this 1974 adaptation but it went nowhere as the project got trapped in typical Hollywood limbo for years.
Now we have some leads that the project escaped development hell, with studios bidding to get their grubby hands on this project. THR reported that Sony Pictures, Warner Bros and another anonymous studio are throwing their weight to acquire the script which is written by Jon Spaihts (Prometheus, Dr Strange). The scribe will also produce this movie alongside The LEGO movie producer, Roy Lee. Richard Edlund, the visual effects wizard behind Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark held the rights of the novel for 40 years and will be the producer too if this project comes through.
The synopsis provided by Amazon:
The Earth’s leaders have drawn a line in the interstellar sand–despite the fact that the fierce alien enemy they would oppose is inscrutable, unconquerable, and very far away. A reluctant conscript drafted into an elite Military unit, Private William Mandella has been propelled through space and time to fight in the distant thousand-year conflict; to perform his duties and do whatever it takes to survive the ordeal and return home. But “home” may be even more terrifying than battle, because, thanks to the time dilation caused by space travel, Mandella is aging months while the Earth he left behind is aging centuries…
Previously in 2008, Ridley Scott wanted to direct this particular work with Blade Runner scribe David Peoples and World War Z Matthew Micheal Carnahan. Now with this new development, one wonders if Channing Tatum has to take off his shirt again just like in Jupiter Ascending.
Source: THR
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