Steven Spielberg to direct M. Night Shyamalan biopic

Steven Spielberg announced his next project, taking on the long-gestating M. Night Shyamalan biopic.

"M. Night is one of the seminal filmmakers of our generation, and I'm honored to have the opportunity to bring his epic struggle to the big screen," Spielberg said.

Early favorites to play the title role are Dev Patel ("Slumdog Millionaire"), Aasif Mandvi ("The Daily Show") and Michael B. Jordan ("Fruitvale Station"). David Hasselhoff is rumored to play Bruce Willis, and Mark Wahlberg is in negotiations to play himself.

David Fincher was once attached to the film but departed due to "creative differences" after Universal reportedly wanted to portray Shyamalan's 2008 film "The Happening" as a massive box office hit, including a scene where "The Happening" won Best Picture over Fincher's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." After Fincher left, Darren Aronofsky was attached, but departed to work on "The Wolverine," which eventually was made by James Mangold. After "The Wolverine" hit theaters, Mangold became attached, but apparently Universal forgot he was and took the project to Spielberg.

The biopic was written by Shyamalan, based on his own unpublished book.

"Night: The Fall and Redemption of Shyamalan" is set to hit theaters April 1, 2015.