Paramount has signed Oscar-winning scribe Christopher McQuarrie ("The Usual Suspects") to pen an untitled military action-adventure for Par-based Alphaville.
Pic, set in the world of elite combat units, will be produced by Alphaville principals Sean Daniel and Jim Jacks along with Michelle Manning, who ankled recently as co-prexy of the Par motion picture group to an exclusive producing deal with the studio.
McQuarrie also will be an exec producer. Producers have tapped Mark Stefanich, a former Navy SEAL and a member of that org's Team 6, to serve as co-producer.
Project, expected to be fast-tracked, will center on the fate of a special forces team assigned to test the security of the most sensitive government and military installations. Due to overzealous execution of orders, they are disbanded and the individual members expelled from the military; a year later, they are asked to reassemble to stop the terrorist activities of a group that has adopted their tactics and techniques.
Manning said she was lured to the project thanks to past experiences with Daniel and Jacks and her high opinion of McQuarrie's scripting skills. "I believe that this could be a huge franchise because the story is so relevant in a post-9/11 world," she added.
Alphaville has been developing the project, previously known as "Red Cell," for several years, working from scripts by Kem Nunn and by Jacks.
McQuarrie, repped by manager Ken Kamins, also penned and helmed "The Way of the Gun" for Artisan. He is attached to write and direct "Iron Curtain" for Outlaw and Intermedia; he is also producing with Outlaw's Robert Newmyer.
Alphaville is also developing sci-fi adventure-actioner "A Princess of Mars," to be directed by Robert Rodriguez with an eye to developing a tentpole franchise for Paramount. Shingle is partnered with Rodriguez's Troublemaker Studios.
Alphaville's other priority projects at Par include "The Book of Skulls," to be directed by William Friedkin, and a remake of "Pet Sematary," penned by "Face/Off" scribes Michael Colleary and Mike Werb.
Contact Dave McNary at
dave.mcnary@variety.com