Director José Padilha, who made his U.S. studio debut with last year's RoboCop remake, has signed on to direct Mindcorp, based on a short story he wrote. Warner Bros. picked up the short story, with the director set to co-write the script with Dwain Worrell. Gianni Nunnari has signed on to produce through his Hollywood Gang production company.

Deadline describes the story as a high-concept sci-fi thriller that centers on "next-generation mind-body experimentation." The plot follows a priest who ultimately becomes responsible for the fate of all mankind. Shannon Gaulding will oversee the project for Hollywood Gang, with Jon Berg and Jon Gonda overseeing for Warner Bros.

Before he directed last year's RoboCop, José Padilha directed Brazilian thrillers such as Bus 174, Elite Squad and Elite Squad: The Enemy Within. He also directed a segment of the anthology film Rio, I Love You. Dwain Worrell became the first screenwriter to sell a feature script to Amazon Studios with The Wall back in November. He wrote the script while working as a translator in China before getting it to Amazon, which helped land him an agent and a manager. The thriller, centering on rival American and Iraqui snipers, will go into production sometime this year with a $5 million budget.