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Adam Shankman Directing Another Voyage of Sinbad Film

by Alex Billington
December 17, 2008

Columbia Pictures has hired director Adam Shankman to helm a "retelling" of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad to be called The 8th Voyage of Sinbad instead. This project has gone through numerous iterations, one with John Singleton as director and Keanu Reeves as the star, and one with Rob Cohen as director and Vin Diesel as the star, but both of those fell through. This newest version is produced by Neal Moritz and doesn't have a lead actor just yet. To show how much the announcement of a director can dictate the direction of a film, Shankman's previous directorial gigs - The Wedding Planner, The Pacifier, Hairspray, and Bedtime Stories - are obvious signs that this isn't going to be a dark and epic retelling of the classic myth.

The story centers on Sinbad and his crew, who are marooned off the coast of China, and embark on a quest to find the Lamp of Aladdin. Along the way they meet a beautiful empress and do battle with fantastical creatures and a rebellious Chinese general who threatens the kingdom. Husband and wife writers Cormac and Marianne Wibberley, of Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, National Treasure, and The Shaggy Dog, penned the most recent draft of the screenplay. While the Sinbad story has been around since ancient times, Nathan Juran's The 7th Voyage of Sinbad from 1958 with Ray Harryhausen creatures is the film that most people think of when they hear Sinbad. Another Hollywood remake to loathe until it hits theaters.

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