A feature film adaptation of the Neal Stephenson sci-fi novel Seveneves is picking up steam, and it’s got some serious clout. Per Deadline, Ron Howard has signed on to direct the film, setting his Apollo 13 screenwriter William Broyles Jr. to pen the script while Brian Grazer will produce. That’s a formidable team for any adaptation, but Seveneves has some serious promise and marks a significant tonal changeup for the Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind director.

The novel, which hit shelves last year, begins with humanity in dire straights as a catastrophic event renders Earth uninhabitable. The world’s nations subsequently band together to devise a plan to ensure humanity’s survival, which involves sending pioneers into the far reaches of outer space. But then the book jumps 5,000 years into the future, with the progeny of these pioneers now spanning seven distinct races and three billion strong. They set out on an ambitious journey of their own—a return to Earth.

That’s one hell of a premise, and from the author of Reamde and Anathem promises to be a bit of a mind-bender. It also marks a fascinating project for Howard, who for years flirted with the sci-fi genre with The Dark Tower, which is finally now filming with Howard having stepped back to a producer-only role. The director’s had trouble connecting at the box office with his past few films, despite the fact that 2013’s Formula 1 film Rush is an underrated gem, but Howard is no stranger to genre hopping—in the past five years alone he’s made the romantic comedy The Dilemma, the historical drama In the Heart of the Sea, and the biopic Rush.

Howard most recently helmed the upcoming Dan Brown adaptation Inferno, which reunites him once more with Tom Hanks in the follow-up to The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons. Skydance—the studio behind the Mission: Impossible films and Terminator: Genisys—is onboard this Seveneves movie with David Ellison producing, and while it’s unclear how soon this might materialize, I’m hoping it’s sooner rather than later.

Check out the full synopsis for Stephenson’s book below, via Amazon.