With so many documentary filmmakers like Seth Gordon (The King of Kong) and Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (Catfish) continuing to break into the world of fiction, it should probably come as no surprise that one of the all-time masters of the form is also about to attempt a similar transition. That being said, somehow it is still hard to believe that Errol Morris’ next few films may not actually be documentaries, even if they are based on true stories. While doing the press circuit in support of his latest film Tabloid, Morris recently revealed that he is lining up adaptations of Richard Preston’s The Demon in the Freezer, a non-fiction book about biological warfare with anthrax and smallpox, and We Froze The First Man, a memoir from Robert F. Nelson about the very first man to be cryonically preserved (no, not Walt Disney). Paul Rudd has signed on to star in the latter — tell me that’s not one of the most unlikely pairings you’ve heard this year!

We Froze The First Man was also featured as a story on This American Life called “You’re as Cold as Ice”, and host Ira Glass is one of the producers of the film. (It is one of a few movies in development that are based on This American Life segments, although it sounds like it might actually be the first one to get into production.) It’s still not clear if Rudd will play Robert F. Nelson, the man who invented the technology in the ’60s, or James Bedford, the man who was frozen. The script is being written by Zack Helm, who clearly got the gig based on the name of his previous film Stranger Than Fiction.

Errol Morris did actually direct one other fictional film back in 1991 called The Dark Wind. It was a thriller starring Lou Diamond Phillips, and from what I hear it is easily the weakest entry in his filmography. This is his chance to make up for it by merging his quirky comedic sensibility along with his attention to strange and fascinating details. Are you looking forward to this flick or would you prefer to simply see more docs from Errol Morris?