Ridley Scott buys film rights to Joe Haldeman's The Forever War

Variety is reporting that Joe Haldeman sold film rights to his seminal 1974 novel The Forever War to Fox 2000, and that director Ridley Scott is planning to make it into his first science fiction film since Blade Runner and Alien. Apparently, Scott has had his eye on the book for more than twenty years, but "rights complications" delayed the deal.

The film will be produced by Scott Free. Haldeman's agents Vince Gerardis and Ralph Vicinanza of Created By will executive produce the film. Part of the delay was their decade-long struggle to get the rights back. They were originally acquired soon after publication by special effects artist Richard Edlund for $400,000. Edlund had planned to make it his directorial debut, but the project never materialized. Variety notes that, "After a Sci Fi Channel miniseries stalled, Scott became interested again and Edlund was ready to make a deal. It took six months to secure all the rights."

Scott told Variety: "I first pursued Forever War 25 years ago, and the book has only grown more timely and relevant since. It's a science-fiction epic, a bit of The Odyssey by way of Blade Runner, built upon a brilliant, disorienting premise."

The Forever War won both the Hugo and the Nebula Awards for Best Novel when it was published. St. Martin's has a trade paperback edition of the book scheduled to be published next March.

Scott Free and Fox 2000's Elizabeth Gabler and Rodney Ferrell plan to hire a writer immediately, though Scott does have several other films in the works.