Studio 8's Period Flick, THE LAST DUEL, Nabs Francis Lawrence To Direct, Shaun Grant To Write

Francis Lawrence who directed the latter three installations of Lionsgate's The Hunger Games saga is set to direct Studio 8's new biographical period medieval thriller, The Last Duel, according to Deadline. Author Eric Jager wrote the 2004 publication on which the film will be based, and this week, reports show that Snowtown scribe Shaun Grant has been tapped to script the movie.

There's no official plot summary, so here's a description from Penguin Random House that offers much more depth of what's to come:

In 1386, a few days after Christmas, a huge crowd gathers at a Parisian monastery to witness what will become the nation’s final "trial by combat"—a court-ordered duel intended to let God determine which of the two men was telling the truth. The dramatic true story of the knight, the squire, and the lady unfolds during the devastating Hundred Years’ War between France and England, as enemy troops pillage the land, madness haunts the French court, the Great Schism splits the Church, Muslim armies threaten Christendom, and rebellion, treachery, and plague turn the lives of all into toys of Fortune. Bringing to life a colorful, turbulent age and three unforgettable characters caught in a fatal triangle of crime, scandal, and revenge,The Last Duel is at once a moving human drama, a captivating detective story, and an engrossing work of historical intrigue.

Lawrence himself will be busy in the headlines between now and the Fall with his latest, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 tending to the crowd at this year's installment of San Diego Comic-Con. That film releases later this year on November 20 while dates and production specs are yet to be publicly announced for this one.

Stay tuned for more info!