Robert Zemeckis Also Involved with the Time Travel Project 'Replay'

Ever since Disney shut down ImageMovers, director Robert Zemeckis has been dabbling with returning to live-action. Unfortunately, he's just been nibbling at a bunch of projects, including one called Timeless, and another called Flight just last week. Well, Vulture reports there's another new project to add to his list, this one called Replay. It's an adaptation of a 1987 novel by Ken Grimwood about a radio journalist who dies in 1988, but wakes up in 1963, in his 18-year-old body, with all of his memories intact. They say that Zemeckis is "in serious talks with Warner Bros" to direct. I just want to see him commit and start filming!

Replay's story extends beyond just one timeline, as the character always dies that night in 1988, but always wakes up again in '63, allowing him to "make a new sets of choices, resulting in different spouses, progeny, and jobs in each 'life.'" It's actually more of a thriller, where he "slowly learns he can’t prevent his own death, but sets about trying to prevent the death of his daughter." Whoa, that sounds good. Please tell me he's going to cast Tom Hanks in this, as I'd love to see that, almost as a throwback to Big, too. Another throwback apparently in the script includes a reference to Steven Spielberg movie (they don't say which one) that eventually leads "the protagonist to his soul mate, a fellow time-jumper, and the movie's screenwriter." Damn, this just sounds fascinating, I feel like I need to get and read the book right away.

The screenplay was written by screenwriter and TV producer Jason Smilovic, who wrote Lucky Number Slevin (which I absolutely hated) and My Own Worst Enemy. Hmm, it sounds like that will need a bit of work before they actually give this the greenlight, but with Zemeckis on-board I don't think it'll be hard to get some big name writers involved. As for how soon we'll see Replay, Vulture says that although that Flight project with Denzel Washington was just announced last week, "it's unclear if or when Washington will commit to starring in the film, and in the meantime, we're told that Zemeckis seems to be doing Replay first, and then circling back for Flight." We'll have to wait and see what he chooses. Stay tuned!