Tony Peckham, who has worked on the scripts for Clint Eastwood's rugby drama "Invictus," Guy Ritchie's period actioner "Sherlock Holmes," and whatever-the-fuck "Book of Eli" was, has been hired by Warner Bros. and Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way to pen the new "The Twilight Zone" movie, reports Variety. This new "The Twilight Zone" feature is still shrouded in secrecy and still set to be directed by "Let Me In" helmer Matt Reeves.
Unlike the original "Twilight Zone: The Movie," which is now more remembered for the bizarre helicopter stunt gone wrong that ended the life of Vic Morrow and two young children than anything in the actual movie, this new project is said to eschew the anthology format in favor of a single story based on classic "elements" from "The Twilight Zone" series (presumably using material either written by series creator Rod Serling or series stalwart Richard Mattheson). We're leaning more in the direction of a Serling story, since it would tie closer into the franchise and, when Richard Kelly was promoting his movie "The Box," which is based on a story by Mattheson that was adapted memorably for the 1980s version of the series, he was legally prohibited from mentioning the show.
Peckham certainly makes the studio happy (please see the aforementioned projects) and he's also developing that "Yucatan" project for Warner Bros. and Robert Downey, Jr., an Indiana Jones-style adventure that was originally conceived by legendary Hollywood bad-ass Steve McQueen (not the contemporary Steve McQueen who directed "Shame"). Recently, Peckham was also tasked by Paramount to rewrite their Chris Pine-led Jack Ryan reboot "Moscow," but we're fairly certain that Mars will be fully colonized before that movie ever makes it into theaters.
Director Reeves has a number of high-profile projects on his plate, including an adaptation of Justin Cronin's vampire epic "The Passage"
and a sort-of remake of John Carpenter's classic "They Live," but it seems like this 'Twilight Zone' project might beat them all to the punch.
