Jeff Bridges has had a long relationship with the young adult novel The Giver. In the late 90s, he started trying to adapt Lois Lowry’s book for the big screen, but despite several years of effort, he had to admit defeat in 2007 when the rights were sold to Warner. However last year they became free again and so Bridges and producing partner Nikki Silver stepped in once more, and set Vadim Perelmen to handle the script.

Now the project is moving forward once more, with Phillip Noyce (Salt) is talks to helm the film. Variety says the negotiations “as there are a lot of moving parts to this,” most of which surround his other commitments, as he’s also attached to My Wild Life, the thriller The Arrangement, and the sci-fi romance Timeless.

The Giver is set in a utopian society where all memory of human history have been erased. A young boy is assigned to be The Giver of his community, a task which requires him to bear all of his community’s past experiences and emotions, in case a time comes when they will be of use. The 12-year-old boy is taken under the wing of the town’s current, elderly Giver, but he begins to question this new lifestyle.

Showing just how time can change a project, Bridges has previously said, “I originally thought of the role of The Giver as a vehicle for my father, the late Lloyd Bridges, however… I feel the time is right for me to do it.” There’s no news on when it might shoot.