Today's Hollywood Reporter announced that Casey Silver Productions has optioned Image comic series Area 52 for development as a major motion picture.  Created by Brian (Witchblade) Haberlin and set in a top secret Antarctic warehouse, Image's 4-issue Area 52 mini-series chronicled the struggles of the ragtag warehouse staff against an alien killing machine that developed from what was catalogued as a spent fuel cylinder, but in actuality was some sort of seed pod (think Invasion of the Bodysnatchers).  Casey Silver has engaged the writing team of Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, who wrote a screenplay for the still un-produced Danger Girl film, to write a treatment for Area 52.

 

With its frigid, enclosed setting and a ferocious struggle that pits a small desperate group against a powerful alien, Area 52 is reminiscent of one of Hollywood's classic science fiction films, Howard Hawks' The Thing From Another World ('directed' by Hawks' film editor, Christian Nyby), which was remade to great effect by John Carpenter.  Casey Silver is obviously hoping that this tried and true formula works again.