The Shadow of the Colossus movie has a new director

Sony Pictures' feature film adaptation of PlayStation 2 adventure game Shadow of the Colossus has a new director in Andrés Muschietti, the studio announced today.

Muschietti is likely best known for 2013 horror film Mama, which starred Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. The Argentine director replaces the man formerly attached to Shadow of the Colossus, Josh Trank, who has since tackled Fantastic Four for 20th Century Fox and signed on to direct a stand-alone Star Wars film.

Seth Lochhead, screenwriter of action film Hanna, is penning the screenplay under Muschietti's supervision.

Sony Pictures describes Shadow of the Colossus as "set in an epic-scale world filled with mythic giants and disembodied spirits." The studio says Muschietti is a fan of the game and "has a strong vision for the film and its characters, and seeks to translate the immersive game experience into a film that stays true to the human story of a young man attempting to save his lost love by accomplishing a seemingly impossible task ... the destruction of the colossi who roam the forbidden land."

"We knew we had our director once we heard Andy's take on the material — it was genius," said Sony Pictures president of production Michael De Luca in a release. "The themes, characters and supernatural elements of the story have incredible international appeal with fans of the game in the millions."

Sony revealed its intention to adapt Shadow of the Colossus into a movie in 2009. At the time, screenwriter Justin Marks (The Jungle Book, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-li) was attached to write.

Shadow of the Colossus was released in 2005 for PS2. The game has sold more than 2.7 million copies worldwide, Sony said.