Previously known as "U.S.S. Indianapolis" and "The Good Sailor," project has been in development at the studio since 1998 and has undergone various rewrites.

Jacobs has been hired to do a major overhaul, with helmer J.J. Abrams in mind to direct. While Abrams has been attached for some time, no decision has been made on whether it will be his next film.

Story centers on Hunter Scott, who caused a stir when the research he did for a school history project caused a re-examination of the case of U.S.S. Indianapolis Capt. Charles McVeigh, who had been court-martialed and blamed for the WWII sinking of the ship and the loss of the sailors.

Jacobs' version will create a fictional relationship between Scott and an aging survivor of the ship disaster.