It seems Universal is closing in on finding the person they want to direct Ouija. With a November 2012 released date already set, they need to find somebody fairly soon, as it’s believed it’ll need fairly long pre and post-production before it’s ready for the public.
The studio has been meeting with directors recently, with Sylvain White (The Losers), Pierre Morel (Taken), Scot Stewart (Legion) and John Moore (Max Payne) all making presentations and talking to execs, but failing to land the gig after they couldn’t find common ground. Now THR says there are two others directors who are currently at the top on the list of potentials – McG (Terminator: Salvation) and Breck Eisner (The Crazies) – both of whom have already pitched their take on Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz’s (Tron: Legacy) script to the studio.
However there’s no guarantee either will get the job, as the studio and production partners Platinum Dunes realise they’ve got a potentially massive franchise on their hands and want to ensure they get absolutely to right director fo the job. They don’t just want someone who can make a decent movie, but who can build an entire world they can play on in potential sequels.
While you’d expect a Ouija movie to be horror – even if it is family-friendly horror – the info that’s leaked on the top-secret script suggests it’s an all-action adventure, which skews towards the likes of The Mummy and Indiana Jones. So presumably the studio is thinking more Jumanji and Zathura than playing on the creepiness of conjuring the spirits of the dead.