Director Ridley Scott is highly regarded by fans of science fiction as a visionary thanks to his 1982 movie Blade Runner, an adaptation of the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick. So Universal Pictures has high hopes that if anyone can faithfully translate the classic dystopian novel Brave New World into celluloid, it's Scott. Of course, having an A-list actor like Leonardo DiCaprio on board to star in the movie can't hurt.
Writer Aldous Huxley's most famous work, Brave New World takes place in the bleak future of the 26th century, where society is rigidly stratified, families are outlawed, and human reproduction occurs only in factories. Rumors have circulated about Scott's involvement in a possible movie adaptation of the novel for a while now, but this is the first time that the noted director has been officially linked to the project. Scott and DiCaprio have set up shop at Universal and will co-produce via their respective production companies, Scott Free and Appian Way. The two have worked together as director and actor before, on Body of Lies, and are expected to reprise that dynamic on this movie, with DiCaprio likely playing Bernard, the central character in Huxley's novel.
It's unclear at what phase of development Brave New World is in, but it's unlikely that it will get off of the ground anytime soon because of the plethora of projects Scott and DiCaprio are currently involved in. Scott is currently shooting Robin Hood and has as many as ten other features in various stages of development, while DiCaprio is currently filming Christopher Nolan's Inception and is attached to star in at least a dozen other movies, including at least two genre films: Aquaman, based on the DC Comics superhero, and Akira, a live-action adaptation of Katsuhiro Ôtomo's award-winning anime.