According to the film experts at Variety, Warner Bros. has made an interesting choice of director for its upcoming CG-animated Thundercats, which is based on the popular cartoon series and toy line from the '80s. (Warner Bros. has owned the rights to Thundercats since acquiring Telepictures in 1989.)

Apparently video game veteran Jerry O'Flaherty, who most recently served as art director for Epic Games' blockbuster Gears of War and Unreal Tournament 3, will make his feature film directorial debut. Variety says that O'Flaherty "had been looking to make the leap into movies and was considering several projects, even live action."

Nevertheless, as video game visuals and animation become more and more sophisticated, there's been greater convergence between the two industries and it's not surprising to see a game veteran head up a CG movie.

"It feels like a natural thing for me to step into," O'Flaherty said. "Games have come so far now. The last four years of my life have been about bringing the energy of filmmaking into the video game experience."

O'Flaherty intends to remain faithful to the Thundercats franchise. The movie script, which WB optioned from scribe Paul Sopocy this summer, details the origin story of the Thundercats and expands on the major heroes and villains from the animated series. The film will primarily focus on the coming of age story of Thundercats leader Lion-O.

Moving forward, O'Flaherty will work with Sopocy on the script while Warner-based Paula Weinstein will produce through her Spring Creek Prods. banner, along with Dick Robertson and Lew Korman.

An exact timeline for the film's production was not given.

On a side note, considering WBIE's penchant for turning hot licenses into video games, we couldn't help but wonder if Thundercats might be headed to consoles, but a spokesperson for Warner Bros. told us, "We cannot comment on the Thundercats property at this time."