There was a moment when Julie and Julia came out that made everyone pause and consider the possibilities of replicating the success story. After all, it was a blog that became a book that became a movie. That’s still a rarity, but the hull had been breached, and for a day or two it seemed entirely possible that anyone’s dumb musings could become a feature film. Apparently that was only the first step in the internet revolution invading film. In the span of less than two months, a poster named The_Quiet_Earth posted a hypothetical question to Reddit, James Erwin answered it with a sci-fi short story, and now that story has been picked up by Warner Bros. for a feature film. Our friends over at Screen Rant had the foresight to interview Erwin back when he was developing the script with Madhouse Entertainment, and now Variety is reporting that Madhouse’s Adam Kolbrenner brought the project to Warners and set up the deal. The short story imagines that a group of Marines headed to Afghanistan is sent inexplicably into Pre-Common Era Rome and must do battle with the Roman Legion and figure out how to get back to their own time. It’s high-concept, and the story gained a serious following on Reddit (which caught Kolbrenner’s attention), resulting in fan-made posters and trailers. You can read the story for yourself, and watch the mash-up style trailer below:

Although the picture is occasionally compelling and has hints of honesty, the script by Pierce and co-writer Mark Richard is a one-way ticket to nowhere.