While Ron Howard's adaptation of The Dark Tower may not be dead, it still may be awhile before it gets off the ground and starts production. The most recent report featured the filmmaker saying that a March 2012 start date for the project is "still moving quickly for something of [Dark Tower's] scale." Howard, however, has never been one to sit on his hands, and now it seems as though he has found a project to do in the interim.

Variety reports that Howard is now in talks to direct the F1 racing movie Rush. Based on true events, the film will center on Austrian racer Niki Lauda who famously got in a huge crash and then, six weeks later, returned to the track to face off against his rival, James Hunt (all while he was still recovering from deep burns on his face). Paul Greengrass was previously rumored for the project before signing on to the Somali pirate drama with Tom Hanks. It's expected that Howard will produce the film as well with partner Brian Grazer.

Much in the same way that The Dilemma brought Howard back to his comedic roots (though, that depends on whether you can really call The Dilemma "a comedy"), Rush will bring Howard all the way back to the first film he directed, Grand Theft Auto, back in 1977. Frankly, this sounds like a really interesting character piece and considering that Howard has directed eight different actors to Oscar nominations, my bet is that Niki Lauda is about to become one of the most in-demand in Hollywood.