Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Universal Pictures has bought an untitled science fiction pitch hatched by Chris Morgan and Zak Penn. Penn will write and direct, and Morgan will produce.

It’s described as an action film in the vein of Chronicle, the Josh Trank-directed supernatural sleeper hit for Fox. Morgan will produce through his Chris Morgan Productions, the Universal-based shingle from which Morgan wrote and is producing The Fast And The Furious 6.

Penn directed the improvisational poker player pic The Grand and had story credit on The Avengers and script credit on The Incredible Hulk and X-Men: The Last Stand.

Morgan is also producing War Heroes with Michael De Luca, which Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer are writing, and Crime Of The Century, a pitch being written by Dan Kunka for Dan Trachtenberg to direct. Latter was Morgan’s first sale to Universal last year after he made the overall deal. Morgan also co-wrote 47 Ronin, and sold the drama The Centurian to CBS with Immortals writers Charley and Vlas Parlapanides, and another to ABC with Temple Hill and Evan Katz. Penn’s repped by CAA, Morgan by ICM Partners.