Variety are reporting that Paul Greengrass (UNITED 93, THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM) is circling the directing gig for the new remake of FANTASTIC VOYAGE. The 1966 sci-fi classic is being revamped by 20th Century Fox is apparently to be shot with James Cameron’s (ALIENS, AVATAR) patented 3D technology.
Considering Greengrass’s filmography, with his penchant for the hand-held documentary style and politically edgy content, the news that he’ll be directing a family friendly, summer blockbuster is rather surprising. The original film is a sci-fi classic concerning a terminally ill scientist whose colleges agree to be shrunk down and injected into his body in order to fight his ailment.
If Greengrass does end up behind the camera on FANTASTIC VOYAGE it’d be a big shift in tone for the director and it’ll be interesting to see what he comes up with. Shane Salerno (ARMAGEDDON, AVP: REQUIEM) is currently writing the script, with no release date yet set.