CANNES -- David Cronenberg, who is in Cannes with his In Competition film "A History of Violence," will next direct "Painkillers," a futuristic thriller that reteams him with producer Robert Lantos, who is repped at the festival by Atom Egoyan's "Where the Truth Lies."

The producer and director on Friday confirmed the project, which has been in development for several years.

Based on Cronenberg's first original screenplay in eight years, "Painkillers" is budgeted at $35 million and is being readied for release in late 2006. Andras Hamori ("Fateless") will produce with Lantos.

ThinkFilm's newly formed international sales division, headed by Mark Horowitz, will offer presales at the market. Lantos is chairman and a major shareholder of ThinkFilm.

"Painkillers" explores a society where mankind has taken a wrong turn, embracing perversions and practices that were once considered unacceptable. In the film, surgery, which is performed in public and on camera, is the new sex, and pain, which has been all but eliminated, is the new forbidden pleasure. The plotline focuses on a police detective who is sent undercover to save humanity.

"Sometimes it's good to be afraid of what you create," Cronenberg said. "And I am afraid of 'Painkillers.' I'm very afraid, and that's why I have to do it."

Lantos and Cronberg previously collaborated on "Crash" and "eXistenZ."

"David and I have wanted to get this project off the ground for a few years. But we were not sure the world was ready for its radical subject matter," Hamori said.