Final Destination Bloodlines helmers Zach Lipovsky & Adam Stein remain in high demand; Deadline reports the pair are in final talks to direct the sci-fi drama The Traveler for Paramount.
The Traveler is based on the upcoming novel Traveler by Joseph Eckert, which is publishing on June 9, 2026.
The novel follows “the life of Scott Treder, a 47-year-old biology technician who begins experiencing involuntary jumps through time, and there’s been interest in mounting a feature adaptation for some time.” It’s described as a “family drama that exponentially develops into a vast science fiction odyssey.”
The directing duo is said to be taking over for vacating director Lee Isaac Chung. An early version of the script by writer Austin Everett made the Blood List, Hit List, and the Black List.
Justin Rhodes (Terminator: Dark Fate) wrote the current draft.
It turns out Lipovsky & Stein have been fans of the script since their indie sci-fi film Freaks.
“It’s very rare to read a script that you connect to so deeply. And honestly, I’ve been emailing our agents every six months for six years being like, ‘What’s the latest with that project?‘” Lipovsky said. “So the second it became available, we were in there the next day pitching our hearts out to be on that film. Because it was the one that got away six years ago.”
Per Stein, the project’s “got everything we love in terms of an original sci-fi story that is very grounded, in terms of character, but has a very elevated theme of what it’s trying to say.”
The Traveler is the latest added to the filmmakers’ increasingly packed slate of projects. They’re also co-writing a new Gremlins with Chris Columbus for Warner Bros., directing both Long Lost for Universal and Amblin, and The Earthling for Sony.
