The Directors of ‘Final Destination Bloodlines’ May Have Their Next Sci-Fi Epic

After bringing Final Destination back from the dead with Bloodlines, the directorial team of Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein reportedly had their pick of projects. First, they passed on a return to the horror franchise. Then, they were linked to something called The Earthling at Sony, as well as Long Lost for Universal and Steven Spielberg. Now, they’re attached to yet another project, and, apparently, it’s something they’ve been wanting to make for years. It’s called The Traveler.

According to Deadline, Lipovsky and Stein are in final negotiations with Paramount to direct the film, which is based on a June 2026 novel written by Joseph Eckert. Lee Isaac Chung (Twisters) had been attached to direct but has since had to bow out. The project first hit everyone’s radar back in 2019, when an early draft of the script made the Black List.

“It’s very rare to read a script that you connect to so deeply. And honestly, I’ve been emailing our agents every six months for six years being like, ‘What’s the latest with [The Traveler]?†Lipovsky told Deadline. “So the second it became available, we were in there the next day pitching our hearts out to be on that film. Because it was the one that got away six years ago.â€

The film has “got everything we love in terms of an original sci-fi story that is very grounded, in terms of character, but has a very elevated theme of what it’s trying to say,†Stein added.

So what’s it about? Well, according to Barnes and Noble, “The Traveler is the story of a reluctant time-traveler and his son, and the bond between them that even millennia cannot break. An adventure full of heartbreak, hope, and futures beyond imagination.†Which, again, is vague too. But that description goes further.

“This one moment—this first spontaneous slip—marks a change in the course not only of Scott’s future, but that of the world. From this point on, at precisely 7:52 am every morning, Scott inexplicably travels forward in time in ever-doubling intervals. First one day lost in a blink, then two, then four, until weeks, even years, are passing him by in an instant.â€

That sounds powerful and potentially perfect for the pair, who got their start on the Spielberg show, On the Lot. The question becomes, is The Traveler their next film? Is it Long Long? Is it The Earthling? We’ll have to wait and see. But the idea of jumping ahead in time at an exponential rate is so brutal and fascinating, we are kind of hoping it’s this.

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