‘Logan’s Run’ Reboot Moving Forward With ‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix’ Director

Warner Bros is rebooting the classic science fiction film Logan’s Run with the help of X-Men: Dark Phoenix director Simon Kinberg.

According to Deadline, the Logan’s Run reboot is being written by Peter Craig, who wrote The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2. Warner Bros. reportedly just closed the deal with Simon Kinberg to direct.

Warner Bros. has been quietly developing the new Logan’s Run movie for years in the hopes that it can generate the critical acclaim of Blade Runner 2049 while replicating the buzz surrounding Steven Spielberg’s Ready Play One.

Logan’s Run is based on the novel by authors William F. Noland and George Clayton Johnson. The original film was written by David Zelag Goodman and directed by Michael Anderson and released in theaters in 1976. The MGM-produced picture starred Michael York and Farrah Fawcett. The film won a Special Academy Award for visual effects and six Saturn Awards, including Best Science Fiction Film.

Logan’s Run was also made into a short-lived television series in 1977, starring Gregory Harrison and Heather Menzies.

The story of Logan’s Run takes place in a supposedly utopian future society. In order to maintain an equilibrium between supplies and population, anyone who reaches the age of 30 is killed by one of the Sandman killers. The Sandman named Logan 5, facing death himself, decides to make a run for it with his companion, Jessica 6, but another Sandman, Francis 7, gives pursuit.

The reboot is considering replacing the male Logan 5 with a female protagonist. This could potentially play to Craig’s strengths given his history with The Hunger Games. Craig’s other credits include Ben Affleck’s The Town and YA adaptations STAGS. He’s also working on Top Gun 2: Maverick for release in 2019.

Kinberg is best-known as a writer and producer on Fox’s X-Men movies. He’s was a producer on Deadpool and Logan and will make his directorial debut with X-Men: Dark Phoenix, releasing in November. He is also involved with the Star Wars franchise, having helped develop the Star Wars Rebels animated series, and is currently writing the screenplay for a Star Wars live-action film.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix opens in theaters on November 2nd.