The Hollywood Reporter today brings word that Ed Solomon, responsible for the first Men in Black film, has been hired by Universal Pictures to rewrite Colossus, an upcoming remake of 1970’s Colossus: The Forbin Project, which has Will Smith attached to headline.
Based on a book by D.F. Jones, the original film was a forerunner of movies like Terminator, introducing the idea of a government-built computer that becomes sentient and then takes control. Original plans for the screenplay by Blake Masters and Jason Rothenberg were to use the original’s premise as a springboard and will incorporate two subsequent “Colossus” novels written by Jones to hatch a much broader film premise.
After a brainiac designs a supercomputer for the government as a means of protection, the computer decides itself that the most effective way it can act as protector is to assume complete control.