Director John Woo has optioned the production of a movie based on Nintendo's Metroid video game franchise, according to The Hollywood Reporter and ComingSoon.Net.
Woo will produce the sci-fi movie and has the option to direct. Terence Chang and Brad Foxhoven will share production responsibilities. Lion Rock Productions' Suzanne Zizzi is also attached to the project.
The plan is to release the first film before 2006. The movie will center on the origins of Samus Aran and her adventures battling the Metroids and their controlling force, Mother Brain.
"We have to assume the mainstream audience is unfamiliar with the property," Foxhoven said. "As for the rest of the film, we will stay true to the game and have Samus battling the Metroids and Mother Brain in a fight for control of the galaxy."
Woo has directed movies such as Mission Impossible 2 and the 1997 film Face/Off starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage.