Well it appears Steven Spielberg had a great relationship with Warner Bros. on Ready Player One, because the acclaimed filmmaker is now looking to make his first-ever superhero movie with the studio’s DC Films. Warner Bros. announced today that Spielberg and his Amblin Entertainment are partnering up with WB to take on Blackhawk, an adaptation of the World War II-centric comics team. Spielberg will produce the action adventure film with an eye to direct.

In a statement, Spielberg expressed his enthusiasm towards reteaming with his Ready Player One studio:

“It was wonderful working with the team at Warner Bros. to bring Ready Player One to the screen. They bring a blend of passion and professionalism to everything they do and have a tremendous history in this genre. I am excited to reunite with them on Blackhawk.”

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Image via DC Comics

First appearing in DC Comics in 1941, the Blackhawks are a small team of World War II-era ace pilots of diverse nationalities who fight tyranny. Given the subject matter and Spielberg’s political tear lately, it’s no surprise he sparked to the material. With Lincoln, Bridge of Spies, and The Post Spielberg crafted a thematically connected trilogy about what it means to be an American, and Blackhawk appears to allow the filmmaker to blend his more blockbuster sensibilities with the thematic weight of his historical dramas.

Spielberg’s frequent collaborator David Koepp, who wrote Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds, and the upcoming Indiana Jones 5, is writing the screenplay for Blackhawk. In addition to Spielberg, the film will be produced by Kristie Macosko Krieger, with Sue Kroll onboard to executive produce through her newly formed Kroll & Co. Entertainment banner.

While this is extremely exciting news, Blackhawk will not be Spielberg’s next movie. He’s spending 2018 prepping Indiana Jones 5, which will shoot next year, as well as a West Side Story remake. He still intends for those to be his next two films, so even in the best case scenario Blackhawk won’t be filming until 2020 at the very earliest. It’s also important to remember that Spielberg has a habit of attaching himself to a number of projects at once, but that doesn’t mean he makes all of them. He was going to shoot The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara after Ready Player One, but opted to make The Post instead. Mortara now appears to be on the backburner or potentially dead altogether.

Still, this is hugely exciting and is a massive coup for Warner Bros., who really seems eager to right the DC ship after a disappointing launch. Warner Bros. Picture Group Chairman Toby Emmerich has made a concerted effort to woo exciting filmmakers for the studio's DC adaptations in the post-Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice era. There's Todd Phillips' potential one-off Joker movie that may or may not star Joaquin PhoenixMatthew Vaughn has been eyed to do a new Superman movie with Henry CavillMatt Reeves is working on The Batman, and just today the studio made a tremendously exciting hire by setting indie filmmaker Cathy Yan to direct the female-driven Birds of Prey movie with Margot Robbie producing and starring as Harley Quinn.

If the studio does indeed get Spielberg to commit to directing Blackhawk, that's a huge announcement to other filmmakers that DC is a swell place to work. This is likely just the beginning, folks...

For a full list of upcoming DC movies in development, click here.

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Image via 20th Century Fox
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Photo by: Niko Tavernise
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Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.