It took only two fantastic UK horror movies for a stateside outfit to enlist Neil Marshall for work, but the "Dog Soldiers" and "The Descent" director will soon be helming "Doomsday" for Rogue / Universal.

According to Variety, ""Doomsday" is described as a futuristic action thriller with political overtones, set in northern England and Scotland.

Rogue, which is taking worldwide rights to the pic, is bankrolling development of the script under an aggressive deal to move rapidly toward production next spring in the U.K.

Precise details of the plot are being closely guarded.

Rona said, "It's in the vein of 'Mad Max,' set in the near future, when the world has become a very intense place to live. A disaster threatens the future of mankind, and a team of people have to stop it."

Marshall has earned his growing reputation with two low-budget horror movies -- his 2002 debut "Dog Soldiers," about an army unit menaced by werewolves, and his critically acclaimed sophomore movie "The Descent," about a group of women who come across something nasty on a caving expedition.

("The Descent") won rave reviews but faltered at the U.K. box office because it opened the day after the real-life horror of the London tube and bus bombings. Lions Gate is holding back the U.S. release until mid-2006."