Matthew McConaughey is in final negotiations to star in Crusader Entertainment's big-screen adaptation of Clive Cussler's 1992 novel
Sahara, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The project, to be directed by Breck Eisner, will begin production in the fall, with Paramount Pictures distributing. 'Sahara' is the first installment of the author's best-selling Dirk Pitt series, about an intrepid adventurer and explorer. The book centers on Pitt (McConaughey) searching the Sahara for a toxin that is killing marine life.
There are 13 Pitt books in Cussler's series, and Crusader hopes that 'Sahara' will be the beginning of a franchise with McConaughey at the center.