The next big project on Bad Robot’s docket is Overlord, a World War II-era film that — unsurprisingly — has a bit of a twist. Based on a story idea from J.J. Abrams and Billy Ray (Captain Phillips), the studio’s latest effort sounds both timely and somewhat ambitious, but it looks as though Abrams & Co. have found the perfect director for the job in Julius Avery — best known for helming the A24 thriller Son of a Gun.

Variety reports that Avery has signed on to direct Overlord from a screenplay by Billy Ray, who — despite recently writing / directing an underwhelming remake of Secret in Their Eyes — has a pretty solid track record in the scripting department. As with almost all things Bad Robot, Overlord’s story comes with a twist:

The story follows two paratroopers who are caught behind enemy lines after their plane crashes on a mission to destroy a German Radio Tower in a small town outside of Normandy during the D-Day invasion. After reaching their target, the two paratroopers come to realize that besides fighting off Nazi soldiers, they also must combat against supernatural forces that are a result of a secret Nazi experiment.

Nazi zombies, maybe? Mutant Nazis? Whatever it is, it’s definitely not another chapter in the Cloverfield anthology — that would be God Particle, the new space-set thriller which is heavily rumored to be the next in Bad Robot’s sci-fi series.

Paramount originally acquired Overlord back in 2007, but with Avery’s commitment to direct, the film is on the fast-track, with the studio already reportedly meeting with potential stars.

Avery previously directed Son of a Gun, starring Ewan McGregor and Alicia Vikander, as well as a handful of impressive short films. In addition to helming Overlord for Bad Robot, Ridley Scott has enlisted Avery to direct the upcoming drug-trafficking movie The King of L.A.

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