The past few months have brought the possibility of Robert Zemeckis returning to live-action filmmaking, a territory he hasn’t been in since 2000’s Cast Away. The two projects are Timeless, which is a time travel story (something he knows a thing or two about), and How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack, which would be a mix of live-action and CG.

Now, Deadline says that the director is in “early discussions” with Paramount for Flight, which has been written by Real Steel screenwriter John Gatins. Described as being centered on commercial airline pilot Whip Whitaker, who saves his plane, which is about to crash. His performance has him hailed as a hero by the media, but an investigation shows that he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol while flying; the conflict comes from him having to be labeled as a hero, while men higher up have to keep it secret, due to “the high stakes involved.” THR also says that Denzel Washington is “loosely attached to star,” but how far that goes is anybody’s guess.

This sounds like material that many directors could handle, but I like the idea of Zemeckis doing it because it would get him out of the CG world. He’s apparently been looking at a number of films which would allow him to do so, and this would go into production quick; the plan is apparently to begin production by late summer. His track record over the past decade has definitely been spotty, and it pains me to see a filmmaker who I generally appreciate going down a wrong path. So, maybe this material doesn’t sound incredible, but it seems like it could make a good enough film on its own; having him direct, as stated above, would make me pretty happy.

Would you want to see Zemeckis return to live-action, and do you think this would be a good way for him to do so?