"The Forever War" has been developing…well, forever. Ridley Scott was attached to the project since 2008, and for years it sat in his pile of things to eventually do, but didn’t seem to get anywhere. "We’ve finally got a very good draft of that for Fox," he said back in 2013. And well, nothing has been heard since. But now a big-time star is coming aboard, which will hopefully get things rolling again.
The Wrap reports that Channing Tatum has signed up to star in "The Forever War," and while Scott has moved on, "Prometheus" writer Jon Spaihts has penned the script. The film is based on the book by Joe Haldeman, and tells the action-packed story of a young man sent to space to help fight off an alien race, only to discover that he doesn’t age. However, a tremendous amount of time has passed when everyone returns to Earth. Tatum will also produce the project, and he’s in the comfortable position of being between Warner Bros. and Sony, who are both apparently fighting for the movie.
READ MORE: Ridley Scott’s ‘Forever War’ Is Getting A New Script, Remains Forever In Development
But even then, this one will probably stay in development for a while, not just because Tatum is busy, but also because a director still needs to be found.
So how many people are going to call this a knock-off of Interstellar even though Nolan\’s movie totally stole the time dilation element from The Forever War & Gunbuster?
The main character in the Forever War, Mandela, ages like a normal human being, but due to time dilation, he and the other soldiers age differently then everyone back on Earth, so when they come home their faced with unforseen societal change. It was a metaphor for what Vietnam Veterans like Haldeman experienced. A fantastic book. Can\’t really picture Tatum, but he\’s come a long way as a dramatic actor, so who knows, maybe he\’ll be great.
So how many people are going to call this a knock-off of Interstellar even though Nolan\’s movie totally stole the time dilation element from The Forever War & Gunbuster?