Paramount has set "The Mummy" director Stephen Sommers to write and direct a remake of the 1951 sci-fi film "When Worlds Collide." Sommers will produce with Bob Ducsay reports Variety.

"When Worlds Collide" benefits from the momentum of "War of the Worlds," the H.G. Wells novel adaptation Paramount originally made in 1953 and is releasing its big budget remake of this year with Tom Cruise starring. "When Worlds Collide" is also expected to be ambitious in budget and scale.

Sommers, who last directed "Van Helsing," will begin scripting immediately. In the original, scientists discover that another planet is veering dangerously close to Earth, and they make plans for a small group of humans to leave the planet before the inevitable deadly collision.

Thanks to 'Damage'.