“Evil Dead” helmer Fede Alvarez to direct “Dante’s Inferno”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Fede Alvarez, the Uruguayan helmer who went from the statement-making short Panic Attack to the Evil Dead remake, is in talks to direct Dante’s Inferno, Deadline said.

Universal Pictures is setting him to helm the live action adaptation of the Electronic Arts video game, which is rooted in the famous literary work.

Former Strike Entertainment partners Eric Newman and Marc Abraham are producing with EA Entertainment vice president Patrick O’Brien.

The protagonist, Dante Aligheri is a knight who with the help of the poet Virgil ventures into the nine rings of hell to rescue his beloved Beatrice. In the process, he becomes an unwitting pawn in an ancient war between heaven and hell. Rights to the video game were won by Universal several years ago in a bidding battle. The game was released in 2010 for Xbox and PlayStation. Jay Basu is the most recent writer of the script, with Bruce McKenna writing the earlier draft.

According to The Verge, video games have become an increasingly popular source material for film adaptations. Ubisoft recently closed a deal with Sony Pictures to make a Watch Dogs movie, adaptations of Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell are currently underway, and next March DreamWorks will be releasing a Need For Speed movie staring Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul. Alvarez first got widespread attention for his sci-fi short Panic Attack!, which he reportedly made for only $300. That project led directly to the director's involvement on the Evil Dead remake.