Steven Spielberg Tackling DC Comics Movie 'Blackhawk'

Spielberg, along with his Amblin Entertainment, will produce Blackhawk for Warner Bros., and is developing it as a directing vehicle, the studio announced Tuesday. The move reteams him with the studio behind his latest tentpole, Ready Player One.

David Koepp, who has worked with Spielberg writing the blockbusters Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, is penning the script.

The material seems tailor-made for the filmmaker behind the Indiana Jones movies. The comic book series told of an international squadron of heroic pilots led by a man named Blackhawk who fought the Nazis and their ilk in World War II.

The series debuted in 1941’s Military Comics No. 1, published originally by Quality Comics before DC acquired the property in 1956. Co-created by comic book legend Will Eisner, along with Bob Powell and Chuck Cuidera, the comic was one of the biggest sellers in the '40s.

Spielberg will produce the film with Kristie Macosko Krieger under the Amblin Entertainment banner, while former studio executive Sue Kroll will executive produce under her Kroll & Co. Entertainment shingle.

“We are so proud to be the studio behind Steven Spielberg’s latest hit, and are thrilled to be working with him again on this new action adventure,” said Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich. “We can’t wait to see what new ground he will break in introducing ‘Blackhawk’ to movie audiences worldwide.”

Spielberg is still on track to make Indiana Jones 5 his next film and is also developing a remake of West Side Story for which he is trying to cast his leads. Ready Player One has made over $476 million worldwide since its March 29 opening.