Historical fiction is big in the book business right now, and with movies like 300 on the way it's about to become a big deal in movies too.

Universal is jumping further into the historical fiction fray, by optioning a spec script by Matthew Sand, based on the Andrew Huebner novel American by Blood. Variety says it's about the three US Army scouts first on the scene after Custer's debacle at the battle of Little Bighorn. To get revenge for the slaughter of Custer and his troops, they're assigned to track down Crazy Horse, the Sioux leader who orchestrated Custer's demise.

In a weird way, it sound a bit like an old west version of Munich, though I'm not exactly comfortable making that comparison. The book explores an America dealing with the shock of Custer's Last Stand, mixing a historically accurate account with gritty, realistically portrayed characters.

Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy are producing the pic; but this is a project that's been hanging around in Hollywood for awhile, so hang back and wait for it to really get moving before getting interested.