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| Armada is coming |
Dan Mazeau has been brought on by Universal Pictures to write a draft of Ernest Cline’s New York Times best-selling novel Armada. First reported by Deadline, Mazeau's previous credits include Wrath of the Titans, World’s Most Wanted, Section 6, Big Talk, and Van Helsing. Cline did write an early early draft of the script and will collaborate in some fashion with Mazeau and the film's producers. Cline is currently riding the success of Ready Player One (which he co-adapted for the screen), which has grossed upwards of $186.4 million worldwide since its release.
Universal obtained the rights to Armada shortly after Cline signed a seven-figure deal for domestic and foreign pushing right of the novel in December of 2012. Much like Ready Player One, Armada is filled with a great deal of pop culture Easter eggs and follows teenager Zack Lightman who learns that the Space Invaders-like video game that he’s been playing is actually real and he is recruited by the international galactic army to defend Earth. So far, the novel has been published in 20 languages across 36 countries. Cline is currently working on another top secret book project that Random House bought after Armada was published, which is also set to be adapted into a film
Dan Farah (Ready Player One) and Dylan Clark (Planet of the Apes) are serving as producers through their Farah Films and Dylan Clark Productions banners, respectively. Scott Stuber will serve as an executive producer. EVP of production Jon Mone and VP of production Jay Polidoro are overseeing the project on behalf of Universal, EVP Beau Bauman doing the same for Dylan Clark Productions.