Doug Liman will direct “Time and Again” for Lionsgate, which just acquired the film rights to Jack Finney’s classic illustrated novel.
The director of both indie fare (“Swingers”) and big-budget action films (“The Bourne Identity”), Liman will produce the film with Hypnotic partner Dave Bartis.
The book, which has a sequel, must still be adapted for the big screen.
First published in 1970, it tells the story of Simon Morley, a Manhattan sketch artist selected by a government agency to participate in a secret project. The project appears to be an effort to send people back in time, and Si wants to go back to probe a mystery involving his girlfriend.
The book has a long history in Hollywood. Robert Redford tried to make a film out of it a decade ago, as have many others.
Erik Feig and Mike Paseornek, Gillian Bohrer and Jeyun Choi will oversee the project for Lionsgate.
Liman's next project is "All You Need is Kill," a time-travel drama at Warner Bros.
Variety first reported the news of this deal.
