Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo may have been snubbed by the Academy, but that certainly won’t stop them from being some of the most in-demand talent out there.  Oyelowo’s already attached to a number of upcoming projects including Americanah with Lupita Nyong’o, but he may be adding something else to the list, and it’s something DuVernay is directing nonetheless.

According to Variety, DuVernay is set to write, produce and direct an untitled Hurricane Katrina-set film.  Oyelowo is currently in negotiations to produce and star in the project, which tells of a love story and murder mystery that take place during the storm.  Should his deal go through, this will mark the pair’s third collaboration together after Selma and Middle of Nowhere, which scored DuVernay a directing award at Sundance in 2012.

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Image via Paramount Pictures

Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King of Participant Media are on board to produce.  Here’s what King had to say about the new project:

“Hurricane Katrina is one of the most important social and environmental stories of our time.  Ava DuVernay has shown herself to be highly skilled at bringing intimacy and contemporary urgency to epic events.  We have been looking for the right way to get back in business with Ava, and with David Oyelowo, and are proud to re-team with them on her original idea, which we believe will be a powerful film.”

Here’s what DuVernay added:

“The story we’re interested in will explore the complexities of intimate relationships within times of chaos, while also examining the chaos itself.  I’m looking forward to the journey.”

DuVernay has to write the script first, so it’ll likely be a little while before the film goes into production, but after seeing what they achieved in Selma, I’d like to bet it’ll be worth the wait.

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