Fox, DreamWorks Team on Steven Spielberg's 'Robopocalypse'

Fox is coming aboard to co-finance and partner on DreamWorks’ Robopocalypse, Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi epic that will open around the world on July 3, 2013.

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Disney will distribute the film domestically, while Fox will release the movie internationallly.

Robopocalypse, based on the book of the same name by Daniel H. Wilson, reunites Fox and Spielberg, who worked together on Minority Report.

"I am so pleased that Tom Rothman and Jim Gianopulos [co-chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment] see the exciting opportunities in Robopocalypse that we originally saw when we bought the rights to the book," said Spielberg."We had a successful relationship with them when we made Minority Report and we hope we can deliver another film that will give today's global audiences something thrilling."

DreamWorks acquired the rights to Wilson's then-unpublished manuscript--about the fate of the human race following a robot uprising--in November 2009. The novel, published by Doubleday, hit bookstands in June and quickly won a spot on The New York Times best-seller list.

"Steven Spielberg is the master's master. He will capture the story's epic mix of thrills, scale, humanity and heart. We are truly honored to once again collaborate with such a motion picture giant, as well as with Stacey Snider and her oustanding team at DreamWorks," Rothman and Gianopulos said.

Snider, who is co-chairman of DreamWorks, said she and her team immediately recognized Robopocalypse as a property that "cried out for Steven to direct. He is first and foremost a storyteller, and Robopocalypse offers him the opportunity to explore new visions on a broad future canvas."

So far, only one other film is slotted to open in theaters on July 3, 2013, Universal's kids toon Despicable Me 2.

Spielberg is expected to begin shooting Robopocalypse early next year.