"I always get the shakes before a drop." The Bug War might be making its way back to the big screen, as another adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's seminal science fiction novel Starship Troopers is in the works at Columbia Pictures.

THR reveals that Columbia Pictures has hired Mark Swift and Damian Shannon (2017's Baywatch, 2009's Friday the 13th, Freddy vs. Jason) to write the screenplay for a new movie based on Heinlein's epic tale of responsibility, space marines, and killer bugs from above. The new film is not expected to be a remake of 1997's Starship Troopers or its three sequels, but will instead be a new take on Heinlein's 1959 book.

Matthew Milam will supervise the project, with Neal H. Moritz and Toby Jaffe on board as producers. Moritz and Jaffe also helped bring 2012's Total Recall remake to the big screen, and back when they were promoting that film, Jaffe discussed the potential Starship Troopers movie with Empire, saying:

"...Verhoeven took [Robert Heinlein's 1959 novel] from one extreme and made it almost comical, whereas our job is to be a little more faithful to the book, and ground it a little more... Working in a visual-effects renaissance as we are, we have the ability to do so much more now. We can do the Jump Suits [armoured exoskeletons from Heinlein's novel], for example, which I don't think they could have done before."

We'll keep Daily Dead readers updated on further details, but in the meantime, what are your thoughts on a new Starship Troopers movie? For those unfamiliar with the Starship Troopers novel, we have the official synopsis below (via Penguin Random House):

"The historians can’t seem to settle whether to call this one “The Third Space War” (or the fourth), or whether “The First Interstellar War” fits it better. We just call it “The Bug War.” Everything up to then and still later were “incidents,” “patrols,” or “police actions.” However, you are just as dead if you buy the farm in an “incident” as you are if you buy it in a declared war…

In one of Robert A. Heinlein’s most controversial bestsellers, a recruit of the future goes through the toughest boot camp in the Universe—and into battle with the Terran Mobile Infantry against mankind’s most alarming enemy."

Source: THR
  • Derek Anderson
    About the Author - Derek Anderson

    Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.

    When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.