Peter Jackson to remake the Dambusters

New Zealand legend Peter Jackson is to produce a remake of DamBusters, based on a Royal Air Force bombing raid on a German dam in World War II, for Universal Pictures and StudioCanal.

The film is partly based on The Dam Busters, a book about the raid by Paul Brickhill, and the 1955 movie made by Associated British Picture Corp.

Christian Rivers, a New Zealander who has worked with Jackson for 17 years, will direct.

Filming of the $50 million project will start next year, the Dominion Post reported today. Jackson may produce Dambusters at his Wellington studio alongside Halo (based on the XBox Game), while Screen International reports parts of the film may be shot in the UK.