English writer-director Joe Cornish won the hearts of fanboys last year with his urban alien invasion comedy Attack the Block. With a lean budget of only about $13 million, Cornish created pulse-pounding action sequences with incredible monsters thanks to a blend of practical puppetry and CGI effects. After winning the Midnight Feature Award for Best Film at SXSW, the buzz for Attack the Block grew and grew, leading to a sleeper hit summer and continued acclaim—including a BAFTA nod for Cornish—as the fall rolled around.
Since then, fanboys have been waiting with bated breath to hear what Cornish would do as his follow-up. Reportedly he's collaborating with Edgar Wright on the long-discussed Ant-Man movie, and last month he signed on to adapt Snow Crash for Paramount. But now THR reveals Cornish has also inked a deal with 20th Century Fox to direct an adaptation of Royden Lepp's graphic novel Rust. Fox originally picked up the rights to the comic last year, just days before Comic Con, so it's sort of fitting that the announcement went out now as Comic Con begins.
Rust centers on a family farm struggling to survive in a time following a war where massive and mighty robot soldiers were used. Though farmer Roman Taylor fancies himself a tinkerer, he and his family live simple lives on the plain, far from the wonders of modern technology. That is until a boy with a jetpack—fittingly called Jet Jones—crashing into their barn in the midst of a battle with an enormous decommissioned war robot. With such a troublesome introduction, much of the Taylor family doesn't trust this jetpack-packing stranger, but Roman has faith that Jet could be the key to his family's survival.
While it sounds like a great project for Cornish, it's worth noting he won't be writing it. That privilege has already gone to Aline Brosh McKenna, a curious choice as she's best-known for adaptations like I Don't Know How She Does It, The Devil Wears Prada, and I Bought a Zoo. Hopefully Cornish's keen sense of style and skill for visual storytelling will overcome whatever obstacles the script may offer. There's no word yet on when Rust might go into production.
