Seth Rogen’s Directorial Debut THE APOCALYPSE in Negotiations with Sony

Hoping to hop on the apocalyptic bandwagon that will surely never get annoying in 2012, Sony Pictures has entered into negotiations to finance and distribute The Apocalypse, an end of days comedy marking the directorial debut of Seth Rogen. Written by Rogen and Evan Goldberg from a story by Jason Stone, the pic was inspired by a short film called Jay and Seth vs The Apocalypse. In it, Rogen and Jay Baruchel play their real life selves while they ride out the end of the world in their apartment. Since two movie stars cooped up during Armageddon clearly isn’t enough, the project has expanded to include James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson now residing in Franco’s (presumably larger?) Los Angeles apartment. We previously reported that the pic would start shooting in February, but it looks as if that will be pushed back until spring. Hit the jump for more on The Apocalypse.

HeatVision reported on Sony’s interest in the project, which Rogen and company hope to further populate with star-studded cameos. A deal is expected to wrap soon with The Apocalypse budget coming in between an expected $30 to $40 million. Produced through Mandate, this will mark a reunion of sorts as Rogen and Goldberg teamed with the production company on awards contender, 50/50.

No word yet on what manner of apocalypse this is, but you’ve got your nuclear, your zombie and your general “Wrath of God” type stuff. And what type of picture is this going to be, exactly? Is it going to be along the lines of the down-to-earth, ordinary guys meet the end of the world like Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in Shaun of the Dead? Will we be subjected to some sort of paparazzi-styled celebrity party? Or is this just the beginning of an excuse to hang out with his friends and make a movie, aka the “Adam Sandler Syndrome?” At least the short film showed some promise as it was more of a dark buddy comedy. Check out the NSFW trailer below and let us know your thoughts.