Clive Barker has signed on to rewrite and direct the upcoming ‘Zombies vs. Gladiators’ for Amazon Studios, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The studio was created in 2010 to use audience feedback in the development of movie and television scripts. Amazon, which has 16 movies in development, received extreme fan support for the zombie genre.

The action-horror film is set in ancient Rome, and begins with a shaman who is about to die in the Coliseum casts a spell. It unleashes the world’s first zombies, and it’s up to a gladiator to stop the spread of the zombie horde and save Rome.

Barker said that he’s excited by the opportunity to “interweave two very rich narrative threads. One of them concerns itself with the reality of the decadence of Rome and its rise and fall. The other is a fantastical narrative element-the living dead.” The filmmaker added that he hopes to give the audience “not only zombies they have never seen before but also a Rome they have never seen before.”

Roy Price, the director of Amazon Studios, said ‘Zombies vs. Gladiators’ is “now in the hands of someone who has written genre-defining material throughout his career.” He added that “we are excited to see how (Clive) will add his unique narrative to capture the essence of this story and propel the project into something unique and original that could one day be enjoyed by all audiences.”

Written by: Karen Benardello