Billblock Media and Warner Bros. have entered into a two-year, first-look production agreement, and it's been announced that the first film as part of the deal will be WORLD WAR 3, a futuristic thriller based on the George Friedman non-fiction novel The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century. Sam Raimi is attached to direct the planned movie, however there's no word on who will write the script, or if it will be his next directorial effort.
In a statement, Bill Block said “Warner Bros is an extraordinary studio and we are grateful and thrilled to be in business with Greg and his creative team as we develop movies with worldwide box office potential. Starting with a film by Sam Raimi kicks off what we hope will be a long and fruitful relationship."
Here's the book synopsis from Amazon:
A fascinating, eye-opening and often shocking look at what lies ahead for the U.S. and the world from one of our most incisive futurists.
In his thought-provoking new book, George Friedman, founder of STRATFOR—the preeminent private intelligence and forecasting firm—focuses on what he knows best, the future. Positing that civilization is at the dawn of a new era, he offers a lucid, highly readable forecast of the changes we can expect around the world during the twenty-first century all based on his own thorough analysis and research. For example, The U.S.-Jihadist war will be replaced by a new cold war with Russia; China’s role as a world power will diminish; Mexico will become an important force on the geopolitical stage; and new technologies and cultural trends will radically alter the way we live (and fight wars). Riveting reading from first to last, The Next 100 Years is a fascinating exploration of what the future holds for all of us.
Although Raimi hasn't helmed a feature film since 2013's OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, he did direct the pilot for the Starz series Ash vs Evil Dead and a couple of episodes of Fox's Rake, and last month we learned that he is also in talks to direct a remake of Jacques Audiard's A PROPHET. Do you think Raimi is a good fit for WORLD WAR 3?