Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to Principia, a historical thriller centered on Sir Isaac Newton hunting down a notorious criminal. Deadline reports that screenwriter David S. Goyer is producing the project on the strength of a pitch by Christian Contreras. This is not the first time the scientific great has been reimagined as a gun-toting badass, because no one cares about scientists unless they also kick ass and/or are played by Jeff Goldblum.
Contreras has had small acting roles in Fury, The Fifth Estate, and Zero Dark Thirty, but he also penned Labyrinth, a drama about the murders of Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. Principia producer Goyer is best known for his own screenwriting credits, including Nolan’s Batman trilogy, Man Of Steel, and the upcoming Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice.
Principia is reportedly based on historical events, and is being likened to Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige. While best known as a mathematician, physicist, and crazy-wig connoisseur, Newton was no stranger to law and order. He authored the three laws of motion, and served as Master of the Mint for three decades. Usually granted as a figurehead appointment, Newton took the position very seriously, rooting out those who would dare to debase currency and manufacturer counterfeit money. Thusly, 18th-century fugitives learned that they mayst remain in motion only until acted upon by the vigilant hand of Sir Newton’s justice, whilst convicts at rest shall rotteth in their cells.