Now that Brad Bird has proven that he can handle a live action film just as well as an animated one, everyone is on the edge of their seat waiting to find out what he will choose for his next project. We’ve been hearing for years about 1906, a disaster movie he’s been wanting to direct about the massive earthquake that hit the city of San Francisco, but as of last year he was still rewriting the script and trying to reduce the scope of the film. However, now this week we are hearing reports that he may be circling another project that was once supposed to be a Robert Zemeckis gig. The movie is called Here There Be Monsters, and it is a historic epic about John Paul Jones, a naval commander during the American Revolutionary War. There is a twist, however… the story also involves giant sea monsters!

According to Vulture, Brad Bird has recently been holding meetings with Legendary Pictures, who are producing the film. They seem to have a thing for monster movies lately, what with Pacific Rim and the Godzilla reboot also in development. Brian Helgeland (Robin Hood, Mystic River) wrote the script for Here There Be Monsters based on an original idea by Legendary founder Thomas Tull, and it involves Jones being hired to investigate the disappearance of merchant ships in the North Atlantic, only to find that a giant sea monster is responsible.

So… Master and Commander meets Clash of the Titans? I’m game. While this could be just another mash-up of historical fact and genre fiction, the thought of Bird bringing his action set pieces to a naval battle definitely has me intrigued. Still, I can’t help but wonder what other tantalizing projects he might be getting offered right now. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is definitely opening even more doors for Brad Bird, I just hope he doesn’t give up on writing his own material as well. What do you think of this premise? Would you like to see him direct more live action stuff or would you prefer to see him stick to animation?