Guy Ritchie is kicking off work now on the new, live-action Disney version of Aladdin, but clearly the Arabian Nights stories are in the ether right now, as Martin Campbell is gearing up to make Treasure Of Ali Baba & The 40 Thieves.
This new adaptation of the 1,001 Arabian Nights tales comes from writer Dave Holstein; or at least he's the latest involved, having based his work on a screenplay developed by Mansur Ahmed and Ehud Bleiberg. As for the story? That will find an adventure novelist caught up in a global conspiracy revolving around a mysterious object. Upon discovering that his father had a map to the legendary treasure of Ali Baba, he teams up with a brilliant cartographer to find the artifacts ahead of the 40 thieves, who hear have evolved from their early days to become a powerful, international syndicate of corporate criminals.
Campbell has high hopes for the movie, thinking of future movies beyond this one: “This is a great opportunity to do something with international appeal and huge franchise potential," he said in a statement carried by Deadline. "I want this to be my Indiana Jones." Or National Treasure... but we'll see how the first one does.
The director's latest, The Foreigner, is out in the States on 13 October but has yet to announce a UK release.