It's been a heck of a year for fans of sci-fi actioners, and while the news is unlikely to generate the same levels of hysteria as Avatar, Summit Entertainment's sci-fi **Arena **has moved a step closer to reality by scoring itself a director in Jeff Wadlow.
Wadlow, who directed Cry Wolf and Summit's disappointingly flyweight fight drama Never Back Down, was working to develop prison-escape drama The Tomb for Summit but was moved onto **Arena **by the studio when that project stalled.
The arena in question will be the battleground where a group of modern soldiers are compelled to take on the greatest warriors from different eras of history in the traditional mano-to-mano combat. Which sounds like a potentially intriguing mix of **Gladiator **and **Running Man **to our ears, or US TV show Deadliest Warrior.
The script was written by newcomer screenwriters Toby Wagstaff and Darren Howell. Arena's producers include Chris Bender and J.C. Spink of the brilliantly named BenderSpink, the production company behind A History Of Violence and Monster-In-Law.