Director Miguel Sapochnik accepts Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for 'Game of Thrones' episode 'Battle of the Bastards' onstage during the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 18, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo : Getty Images/Kevin Winter)
There will be a live-action film based on the fictional swashbuckling sailor, Sinbad. It will be directed by a "Game of Thrones" director just like the upcoming live-action film version of "Mulan."
Emmy-award-winning director Miguel Sapochnik of "Game of Thrones" fame will be helming the "Sinbad" film. "Battle of the Bastards" and "The Winds of Winter" are some of the popular episodes of the HBO series directed by Sapochnik, who is now moving to the big screen with "Sinbad" after Studio 8 emerged as the winner in a bidding war for the story rights to the fantasy adventure.
Kyle Killen, whose credits include television shows like "Lone Star" and "Mind Games" will be in charge of the script. Mandeville's David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman will serve as producers on the project, according to Screen Crush.
The character of Sinbad made its western debut in "The Arabian Nights," which followed the adventures of a wily sailor who becomes stranded on several islands or lands before returning back home to Baghdad as a rich man. The tales of Sinbad the sailor have become an inspiration for several adaptations, with the most famous one being the 1958 film titled "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad."
The Columbia Pictures' film made waves with its stop-motion animation and special effects by the legendary Ray Harryhausen at the time. The film was followed by two sequels; "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974)" and "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977)."
The most recent Sinbad adaptation was the 2003 animated flick "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas." The characters in the DreamWorks Animation movie were voiced by the likes of Brad Pitt, Michelle Pfeiffer and Joseph Fiennes.
"Sinbad was a rare comprehensive and engaging pitch which lends itself to an international audience and big visual set pieces but also distinct and unique actor roles for a diverse cast of characters," Studio 8 said in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. "This project is part of Studio 8's ongoing commitment to working closely with filmmakers on the re-imagination of genres."
Apart from "Game of Thrones," Sapochnik has also worked on shows such as "True Detective," "Fringe," "House," "Masters of Sex," as well as Netflix's upcoming Marvel series "Iron Fist." The director's film credits include the 2010 feature "Repo Men."
Watch the trailer of "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" below:
