Wilson came up with the original idea and will write the screenplay. Details of the project are being kept secret, but it is known to be sci-fi survival story that has shades of Jack London, the author behind such tales as White Fang and The Call of the Wild.

Part of the pitch involved a fake commercial, shot by Burns, for a fictional company that is central to the story.

Wilson is the author behind books with a robotics bent, such as How to Survive a Robot Uprising and Robogenesis as well as Robopocalypse, which Steven Spielberg came close to adapting. He also wrote several screenplays, including a remake of Cherry 2000 for MGM and adapting his book Bro-Jitsu: The Martial Art of Sibing Rivalry for Nickelodeon.

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Burns made waves when he directed a self-made fan trailer for Tron. He followed that up with a moody and intriguing sci-fi-tinged short titled Manifold, seen below.

Plan B, which last produced epic zombie movie World War Z and the Oscar-winning slave drama 12 Years a Slave, recently set up the adaptation of Wytches, a horror comic book by Scott Snyder and Jock, at new Regency.

Wilson is repped by Office for Literary Representation and Linda Chester Literary Agency. Burns is repped by WME and Anonymous Content

Manifold from Anthony Scott Burns on Vimeo.