Michael Mann To Direct Cyber Thriller Starring Chris Hemsworth

nullMan, when one door closes for Chris Hemsworth, another one just opens right up. With production on Steven Spielberg's "Robopocalypse" delayed until there's more work done on the script, what does the actor do? Oh, just sign up for a new film by Michael Mann, his first in four years. Damn.

After circling/developing a number of projects including a South China Sea set film called "The Tam," the cop thriller "The Big Stone Grid," the racing flick "Go Like Hell," the historical epic "Agincourt," the "Treasure Of The Sierrra Madre"-esque "Gold" and the forever brewing biopic "Capa," Mann will now take helm of an untitled movie "set in the world of cyber threats and attacks." With movies like "Live Free Or Die Hard" and "Firewall," we know how dated and just plain bad these kinds of movies can be, so here's hoping there's an interesting take on the story.

We'll have to rely on Morgan Davis Foehl (currently penning the videogame adaptation "Mass Effect") to deliver the goods, as he's co-written script with Mann. The project, developed by Mann, is set up at Legendary (home of stuff like "The Dark Knight Rises," "Man Of Steel" and "Pacific Rim") so we presume this has blockbuster potential. That company doesn't do small. So we're definitely curious.

Production is aiming to start this summer now that Hemsworth's calendar is clear, and afterward, he may jump over to the whaling/cannabalism adventure "In The Heart Of The Sea" with Ron Howard. [Variety]