Starship Troopers remake announced

A remake of the cult sci-fi film Starship Troopers, released in 1997, is in the works according to Vulture. Directed by Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct) and based on a short story by Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers featured a war between mankind and giant alien bugs, following a military unit as they progressed from recruits through to ranking officers.

Sony Pictures producer Neal Moritz (I Am Legend, Fast & Furious) has assigned the script to screenwriters Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz, who have written episodes of the TV shows Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Fringe, as well as superhero movies Thor and X-Men: First Class. The writers also recently made a deal with the Penguin imprint Razorbill to publish their first novel Colin Fischer, about a 14-year-old boy with Asperger’s syndrome, which they plan to turn into a feature film.

This announcement follows remake plans for two of Paul Verhoeven’s other movies; Colin Farrell (Phone Booth, Alexander) and Kate Beckinsale (Underworld) are starring in a Total Recall remake directed by Len Wiseman (Underworld, Die Hard 4.0), which is due out in August 2012, and José Padilha (Elite Squad) is working on a remake of RoboCop, with rumours that Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds, X-Men: First Class) could take on the lead role.