Richard Branson, McG to produce 'Columbus'

Richard Branson and Terminator Salvation director McG will team up to make a movie about Christopher Columbus, reports Deadline.

The project - titled Columbus and scripted by T.S. Nowlin - will tell the story of Columbus's exploration of the American continents using a visual style similar to 300.

Branson is currently negotiating to buy Nowlin's screenplay and will produce the movie through his Virgin Produced company alongside McG and Relativity Media.

Two rival Christopher Columbus movies were released in 1992 to mark the 500th anniversary of his 15th century voyage - Ridley Scott's 1492: Conquest Of Paradise starring Gerard Depardieu and Sigourney Weaver, and Christopher Columbus: The Discovery featuring Marlon Brando, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Benicio Del Toro - but both underperformed at the box office.

Virgin Produced's first movie is the untitled ensemble comedy comprised of segments directed by Peter Farrelly, Elizabeth Banks, Brett Ratner and Bob Odenkirk. Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet Halle Berry, Stephen Merchant, Uma Thurman and Anton Yelchin are among the cast for the movie.

McG is currently helming comedy This Means War with Chris Pine, Tom Hardy and Reese Witherspoon.