Warner Bros in talks to acquire Shiver with Keanu Reeves, Tim Miller

Warner Bros. is in advanced negotiations to acquire Shiver, a science fiction thriller that would star Keanu Reeves and be directed by Tim Miller, studio and industry officials said. The project is being packaged with producers Aaron Ryder and Matthew Vaughn, and a screenplay by Ian Shorr. Negotiations are not final and a production timetable has not been announced.

People familiar with the discussions said the studio entered the talks after a competitive pitching process. Early descriptions of Shiver portray a high concept, character driven film set in the Caribbean Sea centered on a downbeat smuggler who becomes caught in a lethal doublecross, facing hostile mercenaries, multiple bodies and sharks, before finding himself trapped in a time loop and racing to break it. Several accounts liken the premise to a cross between Edge of Tomorrow and The Shallows, indicating a mix of repetitive time loop mechanics and a survival thriller element.

Miller, best known for directing Deadpool and for his work on animated anthology series, would return to feature directing with the project. Reeves has a long history with genre films, including the Matrix series, and would be adding Shiver to...