After tooling around with motion-capture for the last decade, director Robert Zemeckis makes his return to live-action this year with the drama Flight.  It’s a welcome change for the Back to the Future filmmaker, and it now looks like he plans on sticking with non-rubber faced people for the time being as Tom Hanks has provided a promising update on the space adventure Major Matt Mason.  The 3D pic is an adaptation of the popular action figure and will star Hanks as the titular Mason, an astronaut trapped on a moon base with a group of people.  The story is one of survival, as the film won’t feature any aliens or antagonists.

Major Matt Mason has been in development for some time, and last we heard Zemeckis was in talks to direct the pic.  Now it looks like things are finally moving forward, as Hanks has co-written the screenplay and is now on the hunt for buyers.  Hit the jump for more.

Tom Hanks may want to seriously consider ever going into space.  His character in Apollo 13 didn’t even make it to the moon, and he and his crew had to defy the odds to make it safely back to Earth.  Last summer, we reported that director Robert Zemeckis was in talks to re-team with Hanks for Major Matt Mason, a 3D film adaptation based on the popular 1960s astronaut action figure.  But it doesn’t sound like things will be any easier for Major Mason.  Screenwriter Graham Yost (FX’s Justified) revealed new details on the upcoming adventure film.

Hit the jump for more.

Tom Hanks initiated development Major Matt Mason, a feature based on the Mattel astronaut action figure, in 2009.  Hanks wrote the screenplay with Graham Yost (who scripted episodes of Hanks-produced miniseries Band of Brothers and The Pacific) and, as a producer with Playtone partner Gary Goetzman, earmarked the lead role for himself.  For a director, Hanks is turning to the man who directed him to Oscar nominations in Forrest Gump and Cast Away: Robert Zemeckis.

According to THR, Zemeckis is in talks to direct Major Matt Mason in 3D with a tentative budget over $100 million.  We heard recently that Zemeckis’ next project is likely to be Flight, which may shoot as early as the fall.  Post-production could occupy Zemeckis through a good portion of 2012, though Major Matt Mason could get in front of cameras next year when schedules align.

Hit the jump for background on the toy.