A few years back, Marc Forster was the guy named as the director of Bond 22, later to be known as Quantum of Solace. It was a weird choice to be sure, as the director had no experience with action and mostly made dramas like The Kite Runner, Finding Neverland and Monster's Ball. Then the movie came out in 2008, everyone was disappointed that it didn't live up to Casino Royale, and Forster hasn't put out a feature since. The director has started to make his comeback, though, with his next film, the Gerard Butler-starring Machine Gun Preacher due out later this year, and now he's being heavily considered for another project.
Disney confirms to us that they've purchased a sci-fi pitch called The Runner that the studio is considering handing off to Forster to direct. Set to be written by Dave Andron, one of the writers on the FX series Justified, the story is set in 2027 after the world is left destroyed by an attack (the story doesn't mention who or what attacked the planet). Trying to survive, a group in the Rocky Mountains discovers a way to travel back in time, but the agent sent back to stop the attack has a different plan: he's going to save his one true love. Being produced by Brian Grazer, the plan is to make The Runner operate on many platforms, including television, graphic novels and video games.
While I wasn't a really a fan of Quantum of Solace, I do think that Forster was screwed by high expectations. The guy still has a solid track record, and one can expect that he will eventually bounce back. The only real question is whether he plans to return to his wheelhouse or if he's going to keep trying different projects like this one.
