Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski and Universal and have picked up and plan to adapt a 2007 Wall Street Journal article about the online fantasy role-playing world and its detrimental impact on the real lives of players, according to Variety.

Verbinski will develop the film as a directing vehicle; Steven Knight (Eastern Promises) will pen the script.

The article by Alexandra Alter focuses on a married man who spends as many as 20 hours a day on a computer, existing through an avatar who is a thriving, musclebound entrepreneur. In reality, he is a diabetic, chain-smoking 53-year-old.

No production date has been set.