Raimi finds 'Transplants' at Disney (THR)

By Nancy Tartaglione-Vialatte

Disney has picked up “The Transplants,” an action-adventure pitch for Sam Raimi to produce via Stars Road Entertainment with partner Josh Donen. The high-concept project, from writers Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson, is described as a four-quadrant ensemble superhero story with a comedic bent, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The Disney-Raimi pairing marks the first project for the filmmaker at that studio.

Epstein and Jacobson, best known for "Not Another Teen Movie," most recently wrote the action comedy "Crash Test Dummies" for Barry Josephson at Fox.

The duo were planning to execute their idea via a comic book, but Disney exec Kristin Burr was so keen on it that the company pre-emptively picked up "Transplants" in a deal valued in the mid- to high-six figures, says THR.

Epstein and Jacobson also directed and co-wrote the upcoming Dimension release "Extreme Movie," which stars Michael Cera.

In related Raimi news, Sony is moving forward with “Venom,” a spinoff of a character from the director’s “Spider-Man 3.”