'Hansel & Gretel' Director Boards Gerard Butler Sci-Fi Thriller 'Afterburn' (Exclusive)

Tommy Wirkola is attached to rewrite and direct Afterburn, Relativity’s adaptation of a sci-fi comic to which Gerard Butler is attached.

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Wirkola is the director behind the 2009 Norwegian Nazi-zombie movie Dead Snow. Off that movie, Wirkola was hired for his English-language debut, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. That movie, which stars Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton, is set to open Jan. 11, 2013.

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Based on the graphic novel by Scott Chitwood and Paul Ens, Afterburn is set in a future where solar flares have left half the world a ravaged wasteland filled with mutants and pirates. Buried beneath the ash and rubble are priceless artifacts and some of the world’s most valuable works of art -- for which wealthy Americans will pay any price. The story centers on a treasure hunter who leads his team into the quarantine zone, braving rival bounty hunters, rogue armies, pirate gangs and deadly mutants along the way. 

Antoine Fuqua had been previously attached as the director.

Neal Moritz, Toby Jaffe, Tobey Maguire and Ryan Kavanaugh are producing Afterburn.

Butler’s ultimate involvement will be determined by the project’s scheduling.

Wirkola is repped by CAA and attorneys at Bloom Hergott.

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