Chris Columbus has one of the worst habits any director could take upon themselves. No, I’m not making a crack about his filmography — there’s that old saying about fish that, for whatever reason, have found themselves in a barrel — but, rather, the penchant to attach oneself to project after project and never, you know, direct one. Here’s a list of movies he’s been involved with over (almost exactly) this past year: the American remake of TrollHunter, Hello Ghost, The Secret Lives of Roadcrews, (possibly) How to Live Safely in a Fictitious House, and Home Front. With the exception of that first one, any development on those have not gone past the initial announcements. (Ghost, however, is said to have been taken over by JK Youn. Which, really, only further proves my point.)

Take it with the appropriate grains of salt, then, when Variety says he’s written and will direct an adaptation of John Grisham‘s novel Calico Joe. This isn’t in line with the author’s typical output, with the action having shifted from the courthouse to the dugout; it follows a young boy, Joe Castle, who’s called up to play for the Chicago Cubs after their first baseman is injured, soon becoming a huge star in his own right. Columbus will also produce with his 1492 partners, Mark Radcliffe and Michael Barnathan, while the author is executive producing.

Does his alleged passion — there’s a quote about it being something “I knew that I had to write and direct” — mean he’ll actually make it? There’s nothing about a start date, potential actors, or where it would even fall into his bizarre schedule, but even me, a non-fan of his work, figures he should just get around to making something else by now. Not that I’m demanding more, mind you.

How does Calico Joe strike you from a cinematic standpoint?