DJ Caruso on board to direct live-action version of Electronic Arts' survival horror/sci-fi crossover; Variety reports "second and third" games in the works.

Electronic Arts' Visceral Games made headlines last week for both losing two top executives and showing off its wares at Comic-con 2009 in San Diego. Today, the studio formerly known as EA Redwood Shores was in the news again, with Variety revealing a live-action film based on Dead Space is in the works.

Coming soon-ish to a theater near you...

The Hollywood trade reported that EA has partnered with Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, the cofounders and heads of the Temple Hill production company. The outfit is also behind the forthcoming Gears of War movie, which is in development at Legendary Pictures and has director Len Wiseman (Underworld, Live Free or Die Hard) attached. It was also involved with the first film based on the popular teen vampire Twilight novels and the forthcoming Nicholas Sparks adaptation, Dear John.

Dead Space, too, has a director on board--D.J. Caruso, who was at the helm of last year's critically panned action-thriller Eagle Eye. Prior to that dubious project, he directed 2007's better reviewed Disturbia and several episodes of the acclaimed TV series The Shield.

No release date or actor information has been revealed for the Dead Space film, which is just one of five EA game-based movies in development. Mass Effect, Dante's Inferno, Army of Two, and The Sims are also being brought to the big screen. Also notably, Dead Space was made into a straight-to-DVD and cable animated feature by Starz Media last year. Finally, the game's plot is reminiscent of several films, such as the horror-thrillers Alien (1979) and Event Horizon (1997).

Today's article also appeared to reveal the future of the Dead Space game series. According to Variety, EA "is working on the second and third installments" in the Dead Space series, raising the possibility of a trilogy. However, as of press time, EA had not confirmed if the two projects include the already announced Dead Space: Extraction (see below) or the hinted-at Dead Space 2.