Night At The Museum helmer Shawn Levy has signed up to direct Real Steel, Dreamworks movie about a father and son who take a robot to the Bot Boxing Championship. However this is not Robot Wars: The Movie, as it’s set in the near-future, when 2000-pound machines battle it out in the ring.
Originally Peter Berg was attached to direct the movie, but as he’s now officially signed on to Universal’s board game adaptation, Battleship, Steven Spielberg phoned up Levy to see if he was interested in taking over. As well as both Night At The Museum films, Levy was also behind The Pink Panther, Just Married and Cheaper By The Dozen.
Reel Steel has been in the works since 2003, moving around Hollywood and getting re-written numerous times, but it now look like it might actually get made. While some people look at Levy as a purveyor of the mediocre, the Night At The Museum films are actually better than they’re given credit for, so he could actually be a good choice for Reel Steel.
Levy commented to THR that, “Steven’s [Spielberg] passion for this project was absolutely infectious and I’m so excited to bring this story to life. In a movie filled with these mechanical warriors, at its core Real Steel is an incredibly human story.”
There’s no news yet though on when they’re hoping to get the film in cinemas.