Darren Lynn Bousman, the man behind several of the ultra-successful Saw entries including the original sequel Saw II, has just signed on to direct an indie sci-fi actioner called Apex, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Described as “Predator meets Call of Duty,” Apex is set to center on a secretive Special Ops team deployed on a covert mission to North Korea in hopes of securing a weapon of mass destruction. During the mission, the team is transported to another world and finds itself pitted against a hostile and extremely dangerous alien species. So, basically Predators but with military men instead of criminals.
James E. Cavanaugh came up with the idea for Apex (right) and penned the script, putting an emphasis on bringing current scientific trends in physics and biology into the story. Cavanaugh will be producing Apex with Ambiance Pictures’ Joe Di Mao (Kid Cannabis), 2511 Productions and Aaron Ray (V/H/S). All three view the film as a possible transmedia property, and they’re hoping to unveil key art and designs for the aliens to time with Comic-Con this year.
Bousman spoke about Apex, saying that he hopes to craft the following:
“A love letter to the sci-fi films I grew up watching with my dad, such as Alien, Predator, Enemy Mine, Tremors. But I also want it to have the more modern feel of some of the recent video games I am currently playing, like Halo and Call of Duty.”
Part of that will involve melding 1980s movies-style action with the grit and grime of modern war pics like Lone Survivor and Black Hawk Down. If all goes well, Apex will not be a stand-alone film:
“This can be a balls-to-the-walls action fantasy and it’s franchisable outside of the movie universe. There is a whole world to explore with Apex.”
You certainly can’t fault Bousman and company for ambition, so hopefully Apex comes together with their vision intact. Predators was pretty terrible, so as long as it can surpass that, I’m happy to let Apex ape the Predator franchise all it wants.
