Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales co-director Joachim Rønning is in talks to direct Micro, an adaptation of Michael Crichton's last novel. Rønning is rapidly making a name for himself in Hollywood. The Norwegian director and producer and his creative partner Espen Sandberg worked together on the Oscar-nominated Kon-Tiki, and episodes of Netflix's Marco Polo before being brought on board by Disney to helm the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Rønning also has two solo projects in the works, Origin, a high-concept sci-fi that the director has also written the screenplay for, and Doomsday, a drama about a government think tank. Now, it looks like Rønning may have another project to add to his upcoming slate, as we learn that he is being courted to direct a new adaptation of Michael Crichton's last novel.

Rønning is currently in talks to direct Micro for Amblin Entertainment, according to a report by Deadline. The script for the project has been written by Darren Lemke, with Frank Marshall producing and Sherri Crichton and Laurent Bouzereau executive producing. The novel was left unfinished by Crichton's death, but was completed by Richard Preston and published in 2011. It centers on a biotech company in Hawaii that miniaturizes hopeful grad students and leaves them in the jungle to survive.

This is, of course, not the first time that Crichton's work has made it onto the big screen. He is famous for writing the Jurassic Park series that was recently rebooted with Jurassic World in 2015. Crichton served as screenwriter and director for 1973's Westworld, which has also received the reboot treatment recently with HBO's series of the same name.

Amblin is reportedly looking to launch a new franchise with Micro, and Rønning would be a fantastic choice to helm it, especially now that his work on Pirates has given him experience with the kind of massive adventure franchise that Micro could become. The fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie received positive responses from preview screenings, and it looks like Rønning is more than capable of tackling such a huge project with style.

It is important to remember, however, that this deal is not yet confirmed. While Rønning is the frontrunner for the project, he has not yet signed the deal. His Pirates co-director Sandberg is also not mentioned in the report, but may re-join Rønning for this project as well, given their history of collaboration and the size of the film. Should Rønning sign on the dotted line, the next step for Micro will be to cast the major players, and we will keep you posted on any developments.

Next: Pirates of the Caribbean 5 May Not Be The Final Film

Micro does not yet have a release date. 

Source: Deadline