Director Robert Schwentke (R.I.P.D.) has signed on to direct The Finest Hours for Walt Disney Pictures. We first reported on this project back in August 2011, when Disney acquired the rights to the non-fiction book of the same name by Casey Sherman and Michael J. Tougias.

The story is set in 1952, when a vicious Noreaster storm devastated the New England coastline, with two massive oil tankers caught in the middle. When both ships were sliced in half, the Coast Guard mounted a heroic rescue attempt to save the crew members at sea.

The Fighter screenwriters Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson wrote the adaptation, with James Whitaker and Dorothy Aufiero producing. It isn't known when production will begin.

Robert Schwentke's R.I.P.D. hits theaters July 19, and he also co-wrote the screenplay for director Neil Marshall's The Last Voyage of Demeter, which is currently in pre-production. The filmmaker's other directing credits include Red, The Time Traveler's Wife, and Disney's Flightplan.