Paramount buys OLD MANS WAR; Wolfgang Petersen and Scott Stuber developing

It was announced today that Paramount Pictures has bought the screen rights for the John Scalzi novel series Old Man’s War, and that Wolfgang Petersen is attached to direct what is planned to a large-scale science fiction project from a script by David Self.

Scott Stuber is set to produce under his Stuber Pictures banner, with Petersen also producing. The hero is "a 75-year old man who, having lost the love of his life, is amenable to trading his old carcass for a younger, genetically enhanced body so that he can combine the experience of age with the strength of youth and join an outer space military coalition sent to protect human colonies in outer space. Inductees agree to leave their past lives on earth behind, and are promised  land on distant human colonies if they live. Injured in battle, he’s rescued by a special-forces officer who seems to be a younger version of his wife. She doesn’t recognize him, but he’s so convinced he has another chance with her that he abandons his unit and risks everything to be with her."

Kim Miller will serve as executive producer and Alexa Faigen is associate producer. Scalzi won the Hugo Award twice and was most recently creative consultant on the TV series Stargate: Universe. Old Man’s War is the first in a bestselling series that spans four books.

This will be the first film Peterson has directed Poseidon in 2006. While that film did not work he has directed some pretty awesome movies including: Troy, The Perfect Storm, Air Force One, Outbreak and In the Line of Fire. 

I have never read the books, but I am glad to hear about this project being in development. What are your thoughts on this news?