Roland Emmerich is Working on ‘Exodus' and ‘Lawrence of Arabia' Remake

Roland Emmerich, the German director of “The Day After Tomorrow” and “Independence Day” confirms he’s teaming with writer Anthony McCarten (“The Two Popes”) for what he hopes will be his next film, “Exodus,” a Sudan-set action flick.

McCarten is certainly an odd collaborator for Emmerich, known as the “master of disaster,” as the screenwriter’s credits include prestige-based Oscar-nominated films such as “The Two Popes,” “The Theory of Everything,” “Darkest Hour” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Emmerich describes “Exodus” as set “in the not-so-distant future” where the population is battling climate catastrophe and brutal militia. Yeah, sounds about right for him.

“Two fearless kids, armed with a smartphone and unyielding courage, team up with a rogue pilot and a defiant doctor to expose a global conspiracy, racing through a war-torn landscape to inspire a humanity on the brink of collapse,” the director tells Screen.

“Exodus” is set to have a $110M budget. No financier is yet attached. Who will want to invest in this project? The Saudis?

Emmerich and McCarten are also collaborating on a “Lawrence of Arabia” TV series remake. It was originally planned for a three-season run, but now it’ll be two seasons of eight episodes, budgeted between $80M and $90M per season.

Emmerich is coming off 2022’s “Moonfall,” one of the worst films of the present decade. “Moonfall” was so bad that it made his other nadirs, which include “Universal Soldier,” “Godzilla,” “The Thirteenth Floor,” “10,000 BC” and “2012,” seem watchable in comparison.

In his near four-decade career as a filmmaker, Emmerich has delivered two half-decent films: 1996’s “Independence Day” and 2000’s “The Patriot.”