LOS ANGELES, Jan 9 — According to The Hollywood Reporter, filmmaker Joe Johnston is in talks to direct the forthcoming thriller from Mandeville Films, the production company behind David O. Russell’s “The Fighter.”

While the exact details of the plot remain under wraps, the Hollywood Reporter indicates that “Extinction” will focus on a man protecting his family during an alien invasion.

Currently in negotiations to helm the science-fiction thriller, Joe Johnston got his start as visual effects specialist on the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” movies of the late 1970s and early 1980s. He made his directorial debut with the hit 1989 comedy “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.”

Since then, Johnston has made a name for himself as a director of large-budget productions including “Jumanji,” “Jurassic Park 3,” “The Wolfman” and, in 2011, “Captain America: The First Avenger.” — AFP-Relaxnews