It’s a big day for JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot company, which may have picked up two new properties. Let’s tackle the one with a definite commitment first, shall we? Variety reports that Paramount and the Robot crew have grabbed an action thriller spec script called Wunderkind from Patrick Aison.
Wunderkind has something of The Deb****t about it, albeit without the time-spanning elements. The 1970s-set plot follows a young CIA Nazi hunter crossing paths with an older, more experienced tracker from Mossad. The pair reluctantly decide to join forces when they realise they’re after the same person.
Aison’s script has apparently been sending studios and finance companies into a tizzy trying to pick it up, with Paramount emerging the successful bidder. It has since handed over producing duties to Abrams and Bryan Burk. Aison already has a couple of script floating around the development maelstrom, with directing duo the Spierig brothers scheduled to make Echo Station later this year and Takedowns set up at GreeneStreet Films.
Then there’s God Particle, which Vulture has heard Paramount has bought from Oren Uziel for Abrams and co to tackle as producers.
The high-concept sci-fi thriller would see Earth appearing to vanish during an experiment with a large hadron collider. The understandably disturbed crew of an American space station is left to wonder where it has gone, but soon have to deal with the arrival of a European space ship on their radar. The big question is, can they trust the vessel’s occupants?
According to the site’s sources, we shouldn’t be expecting this to be a mega-budget spectacular, as it’s apparently being aimed towards the studio’s Insurge arm, which is aiming to keep costs down below $5 million. Sounds like a lot to pull off with that sort of budget, but with Abrams overseeing things, there’s a chance it could work…