What does the director of a Nazi zombie horror with the tagline “Eins Zwei Die!” (best ever?) do next…?
For Dead Snow director Tommy Wirkola, the pathway was clear; an oddball Hollywood fantasy mash-up in the shape of Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (due for release Jan 2013) and now the adaptation of graphic novel Afterburn.
This sci-fi project has been lingering about in the backstreets of Tinseltown for some time now and with Gerard Butler attached to the lead role, it was surely only a matter of time before things got going. Based on the graphic novel by Scott Chitwood and Paul Ens, the story is set in a future where solar flares have left half the world a ravaged wasteland filled with mutants and pirates.
Buried beneath the ash and rubble are priceless artefacts and some of the world’s most valuable works of art (aka Gerard) for which wealthy Americans will pay any price. Treasure hunters scour the landscape for such valuable items, venturing deep into the danger of the quarantined zones and bringing themselves face to face with bloodthirsty bounty hunters. EEK.
Antoine Fuqua had previously been attached as the director but now the megaphone appears to have landed at Wirkola’s door. Christian Gudegast was the last name attached to the script, but Wirkola will no doubt cast his own discerning eye over the outline before saying “yes”. And then we have all of the schedule-matching debacles to go through. Heck, we could be looking at a futuristic sci-fi, which ends up getting made in the same era as it is set in…
