Timur Bekmambetov, previously attached only as producer, has announced his intention to direct Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter in an interview with Empire.
Describing the film as being in a similar vein as Nightwatch, Bekmambetov says that production will ideally begin this winter and that the property is being looked at as a potential franchise. Perhaps a tongue-in-cheek comment, the director claims that the film is in no ways comedy but is, instead, “a very entertaining, epic history lesson.”
The article also offers updates on a number of other films Bekmambetov has been connected to, including a mention that he would like to direct the Fox version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, to be produced alongside Ridley Scott. Unlike the competing Disney version, this version will offer a “modernized” take.
Moby Dick, meanwhile, is still in the scripting stages but will, apparently, feature a cast of super-powered characters who battle against a supernatural whale.
Other projects include Red Asphalt, a horror movie about drunk driving for release in 3D (which Bekmambetov describes as “one big car chase”), the potential remake of Black Lightning, which he will only produce, and (also in a producer-only capacity) The Knights Templar. Wanted 2 is currently waiting for James McAvoy to finish X-Men: First Class.
