According to a press release, Ric Roman Waugh (whose latest film, Snitch, hits theaters in early 2013) has been hired by Relativity Media to rewrite and direct a science fiction thriller being called Tipping Point.

So what comic book is it based off of? Or dated novel that’s just found a resurgence? Or unpublished manuscript that’s about to hit the Best Seller List?

It’s based on nothing. The original work from the brain of newcomer Todd Stein focuses on a future where the population of the planet is groping at 10 billion, and society has taken China’s One-child Policy and run with it — promising death if you procreate without the proper paperwork. All of that’s well and good for one Population Control Officer, until he finds out he’s chasing (with intent to kill) a former lover and his 12-year-old son he didn’t know existed.

It’s a great time for original sci-fi, and this sounds like a fascinating concept handed over to a workman director. There’s no denying the Blade Runner by way of Repo Men feel of the thriller aspect, but there’s something graceful about seeing those plots in what’s considered to be a thoroughly modern problem. Waugh has built a strong career as a stuntman, and his transition to writing and directing seems to be going smoothly — picking projects with broad appeal and, so far, doing them with technical skill and little risk. Let’s see if that changes with this new project.