Steven Spielberg Sundance Horizontal - H 2014
AP ImagesIn recent months, Steven Spielberg has become attached to several new projects, leaving many wondering in what order he would direct them.
DreamWorks provided some answers Monday by setting release dates for his next two projects.
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An untitled Cold War spy thriller directed by Spielberg will hit theaters on Oct. 16, 2015, while the adaptation of Roald Dahl‘s children’s book The BFG will open on July 1, 2016.
Spielberg, who dropped out of American Sniper last year, has not directed a movie since 2012’s Lincoln. He’s been attached to numerous projects, including these two, plus an adaptation of the David Kertzer novel The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara; Robopocalypse, a sci-fi tentpole set up at Fox; and Montezuma, which tackles the drama between Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes and the famous Aztec ruler.
Tom Hanks is starring in the untitled drama, which is based on the true story of James Donovan, an attorney who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near impossible mission to negotiate the release of a captured American U2 pilot.
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The Coen Brothers wrote the latest version of the script with a previous version written by Matt Charman. Spielberg, Marc Platt and Kristie Macosko Krieger will produce.
The pic currently shares the release date with Universal’s Crimson Peak.
The live-action film The BFG will be based on the fantastical tale of a Big Friendly Giant who befriends a young orphan girl. Dahl’s book, illustrated by Quentin Blake, was first published in 1982.
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DreamWorks acquired the book in 2011 with Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall to produce. Various directors have been attached to the project over the years, including John Madden and Chris Columbus.
Melissa Mathison, who penned the script for E.T., wrote the screenplay. Spielberg and Marshall will produce, while Kennedy, John Madden and Michael Siegel will executive produce.
In the film adaptation, a young girl, the Queen of England and a benevolent giant known as the BFG set out on an adventure to capture the evil, man-eating giants who have been invading the human world. It will open against Sony’s Angry Birds, Fox’s Independence Day 2 and Warner Bros.’ Tarzan on the busy Independence Day weekend.
Email: Rebecca.Ford@THR.com
Twitter: @Beccamford
