'Starship Troopers' Remake In The Works

The film was based on a 1959 Robert A. Heinlein novel titled "Starship Troopers." Paul Verhoeven directed the original 1997 version of the satirical science-fiction film starring Casper Van Dien as Johnny Rico, a Mobile Infantry soldier on his way up the ranks in a futuristic military at war with alien insectoids generically referred to as "bugs."

The sci-fi cult classic is getting a remake, according to an exclusive from The Hollywood Reporter. The novel, which won the Hugo Award for 1960, has attracted considerable criticism and debate since it was first released. "There's a law on science fiction blogs stating that there is probability of one that the words 'Robert Heinlein' and 'Starship Troopers' will be followed by the word 'fascist,'" writes Sam Jordison in a retrospective of the book for The Guardian. "The controversy has been raging (and I mean raging) ever since the book was first published almost 50 years ago."

The original "Starship Troopers" film met with mixed reviews and limited commercial success. It did, however, eventually develop a cult following. That late following led to the release of several direct-to-DVD sequels and video-game spinoffs.

For the remake, Columbia Pictures will not be looking to recreate Verhoeven's film. Instead, they will be returning to Heinlein's text to look for a new vision of how the novel could be adapted to the big screen.

According to Kit, Mark Swift and Damian Shannon, the writers of the upcoming Baywatch remake, have been chosen to write the screenplay. Neal H. Moritz, of "Fast & Furious" fame, will be working with Toby Jaffe to produce the new "Starship Troopers." The two previously worked on Columbia Picture's remake of the 1990 Phillip K. Dick-inspired film, "Total Recall."

Several other Robert A. Heinlein books and stories have been adapted for TV and film, including the "Red Planet" mini-series (1994) and "The Puppet Masters" (1994). Other popular books by Heinlein include "Stranger in a Strange Land," for which he also won a Hugo Award, and "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress," for which he again won a Hugo Award. Heinlein died in 1988. His final book was 1987's "To Sail Beyond the Sunset."

Matthew Milam, a VP of creative production with Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Groups, of which Columbia Pictures is a division, is overseeing the project, as reported by Inquisitr.