Jeff Nichols to Direct 'Alien Nation' Remake

Jeff Nichols will direct a remake of the extraterrestrial buddy-cop film Alien Nation.

The 1988 original takes place after an alien ship has crash-landed on the Earth, leaving its stranded residents to settle in Los Angeles, resulting in tension between humans and the alien refugees.

James Caan starred in the neo-noir sci-fi film as a racist cop who is forced to partner with an alien detective, played by Mandy Patinkin.

Nichols will also write the new version of the film for 20th Century Fox, with Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Sara Greene on board to produce the project.

The director, whose credits include Mud, Take Shelter and the sci-fi father-son movie Midnight Special, recently premiered his latest film, Loving, at Cannes, where it garnered critical acclaim and early awards buzz. Loving, which will be released on Nov. 4, centers on the landmark civil rights Supreme Court case striking down bans on interracial marriage.

Nichols is repped by CAA, Rise and Bloom Hergott.