There seems to be a lot of people co-opting complicated time travel machinery to try to save the ones they love going about: we’ve already got Jake Gyllenhaal getting distracted from his mission in Source Code by Michelle Monaghan, and now Marc Forster is contemplating directing a tale of a choice between saving the future and saving a lover in The Runner.
Walt Disney Pictures and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment has picked up the pitch from Dave Andron, who has most recently working in TV, shepherding the latest reboot of Knight Rider (boo!) and then redeeming himself a little by being part of the writing staff behind Justified (yay!).
The Runner opens in the year 2027, where the Earth is a ruined mess following a terrible attack. A group of survivors sequestered away in the Rocky Mountains have figured out a way to send someone back in time and thwart the attack. But the volunteer who signs up for the risky mission has a hidden agenda – he’s going to save the love of his life.
Disney’s Sean Bailey and Grazer are hoping that Forster, who is editing his latest pic, Machine Gun Preacher, will be tempted to direct the movie, but nothing is set in stone just yet.
And because this is the Mouse House, the company is planning not just a film, but fodder for TV shows, video games, a graphic novel and interactive digital content for mobile devices. And toys, lunchboxes, 7-11 tie-ins... Just kidding! For now.