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It really is the ’90s again. Asteroid movies are back!

The Last Orbit is an upcoming book written by Ben Mezrich. Odds are you’re familiar with his other work, given he’s a specialist in odd non-fiction stories which become surprisingly great fiction stories and Hollywood loves him for it. Bringing Down the House, his story about an elaborate student Vegas heist became the movie 21, The Accidental Billionaires about the rise of Facebook became The Social Network and, confusingly. his book The Antisocial Network became the recent movie Dumb Money. Mezrich is very good at what he does and he’s turned his attention to 2024 YR4. Say hi 2024 YR4!

2024 YR4 is an asteroid a hair under the size of the one that struck Tunguska in 1908 and it probably won’t hit us in 2032 although it will pass relatively close. It’s also got a slightly chance of hitting the Moon on that pass too which makes every geologist you know giddy, I promise. Don’t worry too much, current probability for either hit is 4% the last time I checked. But its not zero and that’s where Mezrich comes in.

The Last Orbit, due for publication early next year, is Mezrich turning to fiction and looking at what would happen if we knew for sure 2024 YR4 would hit. The asteroid is what’s called a ‘city killer’ meaning total devastation at the impact point and environmental consequences but not full on extinction. That (relative) good news is fertile ground for fiction and Mezrich certainly has the skills. And now, the development money.

Deadline report TriStar have snapped up the movie rights and an adaptation is in the works. Josh Friedman’s on deck to adapt and he’s a great choice given his previous work on Foundation and the extraordinarily good Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles as well as his work as part of the Avatar scriptwriting team. The dude knows how to play this kind of tune very well. He’s not alone either, with Matt Shakman tapped to direct. I was pretty disappointed by Fantastic Four: First Steps, but a lot of that came down to script choices and the space sequences, which is our point of comparison here, were stunningly good. Shakman’s other work is the exact combination of character centric and big ideas the movie looks to demand given he’s directed everything from Monarch and Succession and The Great to It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

So this one’s off to a promising start! I wonder if Britpop will be back by then too…