Joseph Kosinskiis a director who intrigues me me because I think we’ve only scratched the surface of what he can do. Some would argue the exact opposite, but I think Kosinski has improved with each film, from the stylish-but-emptyTRON: Legacy, to theTom CruisevehicleOblivion, to the underrated firefighting dramaOnly the Brave. Kosinski has been hard at work on theTop Gunsequel of late, but once that’s in the can he’ll segue to Netflix’s sci-fi movieSpiderhead, which sounds pretty interesting.
Spiderheadis based on a short story byGeorge Saundersthat is set in a not-too-distant future where convicts are offered the chance to volunteer as medical subjects in hopes of shortening their sentences. When one prisoner finds himself as the human guinea pig for a new drug capable of generating feelings of love, he begins questioning the reality of his emotions and sets out to discover the truth.
The project hails fromRhett ReeseandPaul Wernick, the writers ofDeadpoolandZombielandwho most recently wrote theRyan Reynoldsmovie6 Undergroundfor Netflix and directorMichael Bay. The duo are also producingSpiderheadalong withJeremy Stecklerof Condé Nast Entertainment andEric Newmanof Screen Arcade, which has a first-look deal with Netflix.
Saunders' short story originally ran in the New Yorker and later appeared as part of his bestselling anthology bookTenth of October. The feature adaptation ofSpiderheadis expected to come together quickly once Kosinski wraps post-production onTop Gun: Maverick, which will fly into theaters next summer. Cruise andVal Kilmerreturn alongsideMiles Teller,Jennifer ConnellyandJon Hamm. I was never a huge fan of the originalTop Gun, so we’ll see if Kosinski can make that macho world a bit more appealing to weird guys like me.
Kosinski is represented by CAA, while WME reps Reese and Wernick. Deadline broke the news.
