Jon Turteltaub has signed on to develop the languishing Fox 2000 project Beached as a directing vehicle, which will capitalize on the popularity of Olympic swimming.

The story centers on a four-year-old boy who falls overboard during a family trip. The overweight lad is then raised by whales before going on to become an Olympic swimmer. Swimming was one of the most popular events at the Summer Olympics that took place in London earlier this month.

This project has been kicking around since 1997, with an original screenplay by Ted Griffin (Ocean's Eleven). Jordan Roberts (Around the Bend) wrote the most recent draft of the screenplay. Jon Turteltaub will supervise a new rewrite, although it isn't known if another writer has signed on yet.

Jon Turteltaub is currently in pre-production on the CBS Films comedy Last Vegas, starring Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Kline.