Shawn Levy To Direct Robotic Boxing Movie Real Steel

Shawn Levy To Direct Robotic Boxing Movie Real Steel

By Peter Sciretta/Sept. 15, 2009 11:00 pm EST

The film tells the story of a father and his estranged teenage son who enter the world of robotic boxing. You see, in the future, human boxing has been outlawed, replaced with sports combat between human-trained heavy steel robots. The concept is something we’ve never seen before, and in the right hands, could be a good Summer tentpole film.

But don’t worry, John Gatins , the screenwriter behind Summer Catch, Hard Ball and Dreamer, wrote the most recent draft of the screenplay, which is the final nail in the coffin. Levy tells Heat Vision:

The only saving grace is Steven Spielberg’s involvement as executive producer. But who knows how much he will be involved creatively. His influence on Michael Bay’s Transformers was very noticeable, but his fingerprints appeared to be completely missing from the sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Levy’s quote seems to imply an enhanced involvement, and an investment in the human story, which gives us some (a little) hope.

Steven’s passion for this project was absolutely infectious and I’m so excited to bring this story to life," Levy said. “In a movie filled with these mechanical warriors, at its core ‘Real Steel’ is an incredibly human story.