Warner Bros. Lines Up Juan Antonio Bayona For Sci-Fi Flick, Picks Someone For 'Robotech'

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by Kevin Jagernauth
January 28, 2013 10:41 AM
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While "The Impossible" didn't quite become the Oscar player some might have expected (though it did earn a nod for Naomi Watts) the film established Juan Antonio Bayona as a director who could deliver big screen spectacle with ease and power. And Warner Bros. has decided to tap that talent.

The studio has signed on Bayona to direct an untitled sci-fi movie. And that is all. There are no plot details. However, we do know that it is penned by Eric Roth ("Munich," "Ali," "The Good Shepherd," "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button") whose credits speak for themselves. And while there's no start date or any other info at this moment, it seems WB is banking on sci-fi for the tentpole slate (and remember, they've got both "Pacific Rim" and "Gravity" coming this year).

They've gone ahead and hired commercials director Nic Mathieu to bring "Robotech" to the big screen, and it sounds not unlike Guillermo Del Toro's movie. Based on the Japanese anime, the story will find mankind using an alien technology that has crash landed in the South Pacific, to help fend off an alien invasion. Those attacking the planet are seeking "protoculture," an energy source, while two young pilots hold the fate of Earth in their hands. Not surprisingly, this is being viewed as a potential "Transformers"-sized franchise. We'll see. [Variety/THR]

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KT | January 28, 2013 10:48 AMReply

"... "Robotech" to the big screen, and it sounds not unlike Guillermo Del Toro's movie."

Actually, not to nerd-nitpick, but it's very unlike Del Toro's movie; the aliens they fight are building-sized creatures that are very similar to humans in appearance and they're highly intelligent.