He flirted with the Assassin's Creed movie for a while, but Daniel Espinosa's desire to move off real-world thrillers and into something with a bit of a sci-fi tinge has ultimately led him in a different direction. He's in talks to direct Warner Bros.' top secret Morningstar project, from a screenplay by David Birke (13 Sins).
Espinosa previously made the international hit Snabba Cash, followed by his mainstream debut Safe House, with Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington. Most recently he's been at work on Child 44, based on Tom Rob Smith's novel and sporting the pitch-hitting cast of Tom Hardy, Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace and Vincent Cassel. Ridley Scott is among the producers.
In short, his is becoming an increasingly safe pair of hands where real-world thrillers are concerned, so something fantastical that calls for "world building" is a surprising tangent. While nothing is known about Morningstar's story, however, the word on the street is that it has a Cold War vibe. So maybe that Child 44 experience is relevant.
Could the name 'Morningstar' refer to Lucifer? Are Heaven and Hell the fantastical elements? A cold war between supernatural superpowers? We'll have to wait and see...
Doug Davison is producing the film, but there's no start date yet. Child 44 is out on April 17.