Honey, I Shrunk The Novel: Pirates Of The Caribbean Director Bringing Michael Crichton's 'Micro' To Cinemas

As one of the greatest techno-thriller writers out there, #MichaelCrichton's novels have shaped the childhoods of several generations since he started writing in the '60s. Crichton is the man behind such #scifi stories as #JurassicPark and #Westworld, but with over 25 novels to his name and selling over 200 million copies of his books worldwide, the author wasn't just dinosaurs and robots.

Sadly, when Crichton died in 2008, he had several unfinished books in production. Among those that remained incomplete was his story Micro. Thankfully, author Richard Preston picked up the mantle and the book was published by HarperCollins in 2011. #StevenSpielberg's Amblin snapped up the rights in 2015, but now the film appears to be moving forward and also has a director.

Micro Managing

Joachim Rønning, of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales fame, will direct Micro, while Goosebumps writer Darren Lemke has penned the script. Planning to shoot as early as fall, there still might not be a cast for Micro, but its storyline sounds suitably Crichton-esque.

The story focuses on a group of graduates who are lured to Hawaii under the pretense of a "job of a lifetime." They meet Vin Drake, the CEO of Nanigen Micro-Technologies, who puts his nefarious plan into action. The students, tasked with the challenge of surviving, are shrunk down to the size of ants and dumped in the middle of the jungle. With only their wits to guide them, it sounds like a cross between The Borrowers and an episode of The Magic School Bus.

Crichton's novels have been turned into some of the best sci-fi films in Hollywood, but the likes of Sphere and Timeline have been met with limited success. When people hear the name Crichton, they tend to automatically think of Jurassic Park, so can Micro shed that image and remind us of the author's legacy? It is too early to tell whether Rønning's Pirates credentials make him the right man for the job, but his work on foreign film Kon-Tiki led to a slew of award nominations. Expect us to head into the jungle with Micro sometime in 2018.