Based on Gay and Laney Salisbury’s book “The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic,” the true story centers on a 674-mile journey undertaken by 20 men and 200 dogs who rushed a diphtheria antidote to Nome, Alaska, in 1952. The group braved temperatures of minus-60 degrees, a phenomenon known as ice fog and other dangers, capturing the attention of the lower 48 states. One lead dog even got a statue in New York’s Central Park.

Sean O’Keefe and Will Staples wrote the adaptation.

Walden is eyeing a summer start for the project, which at one point was in development at Miramax under the title “Ice Bound.”

The deal marks the first project for Hood since directing “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” which grossed $373 million worldwide.

Walden is eyeing a summer start for the adventure movie, which should give Hood plenty of time to schedule TV work; he is attached to direct “Breakout Kings,” which recently was picked up as a pilot by Fox. He is coming off the pilot “Tough Trade,” which he directed for Epix.

Walden acquired rights to “The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic,” a book by Gay and Laney Salisbury. Several studios bid on the material. Sean O’Keefe and Will Staples will pen the script.

Tome tells the story of how a team of 20 men and more than 200 sled dogs undertook a 674-mile race against time to deliver a vaccine to combat an incipient epidemic of diphtheria afflicting a Gold Rush town deep in Alaska.

Johnson will produce through his Gran Via banner. Gran Via’s Tom Williams will also be involved as a producer

[Variety]