Steven Spielberg to Direct Robotic Armageddon in 'Robocopalypse'

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Steven Spielberg has lasered in on the project he will direct after he completes is World War I drama War Horse: an adaptation of post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel Robopocalypse.

DreamWorks and Disney, which releases DreamWorks' movies, announced production will begin in January 2012 for a release the following year through Touchstone. War Horse will open December 28, 2011.

It was almost a year ago that DreamWorks picked up the book by Wilson, who has a Ph.D. in robotics, and who has made a name for himself writing robot-centered doomsday scenarios (his How to Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion is set up at Paramount). The book will be published next year. 

Robopocalypse was on the list of projects Spielberg was considering earlier this year before he ultimately buckled down and chose War Horse in the summer. What got the notoriously choosy Spielberg excited about Robopocalypse was the script by Cloverfield writer Drew Goddard; Goddard’s latest draft began making waves when it was submitted to the studio in September.