Well, this really came out of nowhere. Maybe it was because development had (from what I thought) stalled a little, or perhaps it was due to its director being oh-so-busy on Lincoln, but… well, yeah, I didn’t really expect this.

Anyway, I should shut up and just give you the news. Deadline reports that Steven Spielberg has found his man for Robopocalypse: Chris Hemsworth, an actor whose status as Hollywood’s fastest rising star may as well have been laminated this very evening. Now, while “no official offer [is] on the table yet,” the director and star held meetings that convinced Spielberg to pick him; done deal, I’d think.

Drew Goddard (director and co-writer of the Hemsworth-led Cabin in the Woods) is basing his script on Daniel H. Wilson‘s novel of robot-human conflict which, like Max Brooks‘ World War Z — the screwed-up adaptation of which Goddard is also working on — lacks any central character. Thus, the identity of Hemsworth‘s character remains unknown to you or I, so long as “I” isn’t one of the main creative forces. If that is the case, however, hello.

Still. He’s quickly become one of the more entertaining “younger” actors working for studios these days — his charisma was the only thing that didn’t make Snow White and the Huntsman a death sentence — who, unlike just about all the others, could make himself the star of a few franchises and not induce fatigue. Robopocalypse might be another one to add to that list.

Spielberg, in an explanation for the project’s appeal, has expressed the idea that Robopocalypse should focus on “a global war between man and machine” and also be the exploration of “consequences of creating technologies which make our lives easier, and what happens when that technology becomes smarter than we are.” All good stuff, but let’s not discount Deadline’s note that it’s “sure to become the director’s next big global popcorn film.” If you tell me there’s anybody who can mix popcorn, formal flair, and thematic schematics better than Spielberg — no, don’t bother.

Robopocalypse will open on April 25th, 2014.

Is Hemsworth a wise choice for Robopocalypse, and does this pick make it feel like a more worthy endeavor?