Ron Howard has signed on to direct Amnesty based on a pitch by screenwriter Max Landis (Fear Itself) for Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment. Deadline doesn't have any details on the plot but says that the story "blends Robert Ludlum and JRR Tolkien."  A spy thriller set in a fantasy world is an intriguing premise.  Unfortunately, Howard isn't a very interesting director and Landis is still unproven when it comes to feature films, although he handled the script for the upcoming supernatural drama Chronicle.

But if Howard stays attached, don't expect to see Amnesty anytime soon.  He's currently prepping to direct the first part of a trilogy based off Stephen King's The Dark Tower series.  The first film is due out on May 17, 2013.