The Hunger Games director Gary Ross recently backed out of making the sequel, Catching Fire, with one of the stated reasons being that there was another, more lucrative movie he was interested in. Now we know what that film probably is, as THR reports that the director has entered negotiations to direct The Secret Life of Houdini.
There hasn’t been much info on this project since February 2011, when screenwriter Noah Oppenheim signed on to adapt the biography the boon, The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero by William Kalush and Larry Sloman. The book is partly a traditional biopic of Harry Houdini’s exploits as a world-famous magician, but also alleges he was working as a British spy at the same time. The studio is looking to launch a franchise behind this adaptation, by creating a character they see as a hybrid of Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones.
Interestingly Francis Lawrence, who stepped in to direct Catching Fire, is also attached to director a Houdini, although his is at Sony while Ross’ is at Summit.