While War Horse may still be around the corner, Steven Spielberg is already setting his sights on another feature film, Robopocalypse. According to two separate sources both Anne Hathaway and Ben Whishaw are in talks to join the cast.
First, a little background on the project: We reported back in July that Spielberg was eyeing Chris Hemsworth for the lead role in the film. As of yet, Hemsworth isn’t officially on board, although he’s expected to be come production.
Back in January, Spielberg said, “It’s a movie about a global war between man and machine. I had a great time creating the future on Minority Report, and it’s a future that is coming true faster than any of us thought it would. Robopocalypse takes place in 15 or 20 years, so it’ll be another future we can relate to. It’s about the consequences of creating technologies which make our lives easier, and what happens when that technology becomes smarter than we are. It’s not the newest theme, it’s been done throughout science fiction, but it’s a theme that becomes more relevant every year.”
Hathaway would play the female lead in the film, although discussions have been described as being in the early stages. Whishaw, meanwhile, is the top choice to play a hacker in the film named, get this, Lurker. Let me guess, he’s creepy.
Former Fox chairman Tom Rothman is set to produce the film, which will be jointly distributed by DreamWorks/Disney and 20th Century Fox. Said Spielberg of bringing Rothman on board, “When someone like Tom is a free agent, you snatch him up fast. He has proven himself to be a necessity of this industry. At Fox he had already been an enthusiastic partner on Robopocalypse, and it is to our advantage that he would come produce this film with me. Tom has been a wonderful friend and colleague over the years and DreamWorks is incredibly lucky to have him on board.”
The release date for Robopocalypse has been tentatively set for April 25, 2014.