Yahoo Lifestyle Lee Isaac Chung To Direct Sci-Fi Family Drama ‘The Traveler’ For Skydance
EXCLUSIVE: On the heels of Twisters, which grossed over $370 million worldwide in theaters last summer, Oscar nominee Lee Isaac Chung has closed a deal with Skydance to direct The Traveler, a feature adaptation of the novel Traveler by Joseph Eckert.
While the project is in the early stages and the logline is being kept under wraps, sources described The Traveler as an intimate family drama that exponentially develops into a vast science fiction odyssey. The novel explores the life of Scott Treder, a 47-year-old biology technician who begins experiencing involuntary jumps through time, and there’s been interest in mounting a feature adaptation for some time. An early version of the script, penned by Austin Everett, garnered significant industry attention a few years ago, making the Blood List, Hit List, and the Black List, with MGM looking to develop it back in 2019, as we were first to report.
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Justin Rhodes (Terminator: Dark Fate) wrote the current draft. Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger will produce alongside Adam Rosenberg and his Aro Pictures banner, Ashley Jay Sandberg, and Rodney Rothman, with Carin Sage overseeing for Skydance.
It’s easy to see why Chung was sought out for The Traveler, as the project combines the family focus of his breakout film Minari with the blockbuster spectacle of Twisters, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell, which he steered toward the best-ever opening weekend for a natural disaster film in North America at $80.5 million, outperforming box office projections. Universal released Twisters in the U.S. last July, whereas A24 distributed Minari, Chung’s semi-autobiographical immigrant family drama, which won the Grand Jury and Audience Awards at Sundance in 2020 and garnered Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice wins, along with multiple Academy Award, Independent Spirit, BAFTA and SAG nominations. Chung’s other projects include Munyurangabo, which premiered to critical acclaim at Cannes in in 2007, and episodes of The Mandalorian and Skeleton Crew.
Previously writing on Tim Miller’s Terminator: Dark Fate for Paramount and Skydance, Rhodes more recently served as writer and executive producer on Miller’s animated anthology series Secret Level for Amazon. He is currently writing an untitled sci-fi film for Apple TV+ and an additional untitled sci-fi action film for Netflix.
Chung is repped by CAA and Jackoway Austen; Rhodes by CAA, Lit Entertainment Group, and attorney Eric Suddleson ; Rosenberg by UTA and attorney Joel McKuin; and Eckert by WME.
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