Universal Pictures has picked up Moby Dick, and plans to reimagine the Herman Melville whale tale with Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) attached to direct.

According to Variety, Adam Cooper and Bill Collage will script the screenplay.

The writers revere Melville’s original text, but their graphic novel-style version will change the structure. Gone is the first-person narration by the young seaman Ishmael, who observes how Ahab’s obsession with killing the great white whale overwhelms his good judgment as captain.

This change will allow them to depict the whale’s decimation of other ships prior to its encounter with Ahab’s Pequod, and Ahab will be depicted more as a charismatic leader than a brooding obsessive.

Bekmambetov will look to apply the visual flourish he displayed on the summer hit Wanted.

No production date has been set.

Moby Dick is in development . The film is directed by Timur Bekmambetov.