Emmerich Takes Us On a Fantastic Voyage

Roland Emmerich, best known for directing such box office winners as “The Day After Tomorrow,” “Independence Day” and penning Kurt Russell’s “Stargate,” will next tackle the redo of another classic sci-fi flick that was way ahead of its time when it debuted over 40 years ago — “Fantastic Voyage.”

The original film starred Rachel Welch, Stephen Boyd, Donald Pleasence and a cast of old-school Hollywood legends like Edmund O’Brien, Arthur Kennedy and Arthur O’Connell.

“Fantastic Voyage” told the story of a Soviet scientist who defected to the United States. He holds the key to some new scientific discovery that will revolutionize American defenses. However, before he can be brought to relative safety an attempt on his life leaves the him in a coma with a cerebral blood clot that is inoperable by standard surgical procedures.

To ensure the survival of the brilliant scientist, a crew of doctors and other specialists are put aboard a unique submarine, miniaturized down to the size smaller than a microbe and injected into the blood stream of the dying man. From there the truly fantastic voyage to the man’s brain and central nervous system begins….the only problem — one of the members of the scientific team is an assassin out to destroy the scientist and all the other members of the team.

James Cameron will also be apart of this remake project by helping Roland produce through his Lightstorm Entertainment with Marianne and Cormac Wibberley (“National Treasure”) penning the script that will update the story and make it more relevant for the 21st Century.

Besides “Voyage,” Emmerich also directed the much anticipated “10,000 B.C.” due out next March and has written the screenplay with Jim Uhls for the sci-fi runaway train thriller “Isobar” (release date TBA).