Pierre Morel will direct 'Dune' adaptation

'Taken' director Pierre Morel travels to the 'Dune' as director of the anticipated adaptation

Pierre Morel could be described as one of the busiest directors out there. The "Taken" helmer has a number of projects coming up, and the latest he's joined is Paramount Pictures' adaptation of Frank Herbert's sci-fi adventure "Dune."

Peter Berg was originally set to direct the film, but Variety says Morel is now officially on board to get the show on the road. Josh Zetumer developed a draft of the script with Berg, but Paramount will hire a new writer to complete the project.

"Dune" arrived on the big screen in 1984, courtesy of David Lynch. THe novel was also adapted into a mini series for television. Berg was quite passionate about directing the film, but he recently backed out to helm "Battleship."

Morel's next film is a thriller titled "From Paris With Love," which will open in theaters Feb. 5, 2010. He's also got "Signals," "Pursuit" and "Hunter-Killer" in development. He is quite a busy dude indeed. BTW, I really enjoyed his "Taken," even though it was ridiculously over the top.