Martin Campbell ("Casino Royale," "Goldeneye," "The Mask of Zorro") will direct the re-imagining of the Alfred Hitchcock classic "The Birds" for Platinum Dunes, Mandalay Pictures and Universal Pictures reports the trades.

Naomi Watts has been attached for some time, but her involvement will depend on the script. The early talks with Campbell mean the production won't likely surface until after the possible directors and actors strike mid-next year.

The studio says the redo will owe more to the Daphne du Maurier short story than the legendary 1963 Hitchcock film based on it which bore little resemblance short of the 'nature on the attack' angle. Campbell is presently attached to Fox's runaway train actioner "Unstoppable" and the crime thriller "36" at Paramount Pictures.