Rob Letterman may not be a name that everyone knows, but Universal must have faith in him as they’ve hired the director of the upcoming Gulliver’s Travels (he was also the co-director of Monsters Vs. Aliens and Shark Tale) to helm their toy-to-film adaptation, Stretch Armstrong, which Taylor Lautner is attached to star in.
The confirms earlier rumours, with THR saying Letterman’s now officially signed on for the flick, which will be based on the pliable toy that’s been around since the 1970s. It’s also been revealed that while Steve Oedekerk wrote the original screenplay, Nick Stoller, the writer/director behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall, has been hired to give the script a bit of an overhaul. That certainly suggests they’re planning to take the movie in a comic direction.
The plan is to turn Stretch Armstrong into a 3D superhero action-comedy, and Universal certainly seems keen to hire some decent people to help them do that (and Stoller is a much better choice for screenwriter than the mediocre Oedekerk, who may have a cult following, but has largely disappointed). The film should be in cinemas in 2012.