EXCLUSIVE: Coming off steering the huge success of Universal’s Furious 7, director James Wan is in early discussions with Sony Pictures to direct Robotech, the feature adaptation of the 1980s sci-fi anime series that is being eyed as a worldwide franchise. Wan is one of the hottest directors in town after Furious 7‘s success — it has grossed $1.3 billion so far in worldwide box office — and has a lot of offers on the table. But I’m hearing he and Sony are going to try and make this work though the deal talks are in the beginning stages.

Word is Wan is all for the opportunity to originate a franchise like he did with Warner Bros/New Line’s The Conjuring, which now has a second pic that he plans to direct coming out in 2016.

Hollywood Gang’s Gianni Nunnari and Atmosphere’s Mark Canton are producing a script from Michael Gordon, reuniting the trio who worked on 300. The original U.S. TV series Robotech was based on three different Japanese series and focused on the use of robotic technology found on a crashed alien starship that Earth used to fight off various alien invasions. The Harmony Gold-produced series has a place in the fanboy Hall of Fame for introducing a generation of American kids to the visual style and open-ended storytelling of anime.

Aside from Furious 7′s mega-success Wan has an overall producing deal at New Line anchored by the Conjuring movies and has been mentioned for other projects including DC Comics’ Aqua Man at Warners and his graphic novel adaptation Malignant Man at Fox.

He is repped by Paradigm, Stacey Testro International and attorney David Fox.