I'm fine with whatever Paul Verhoeven wants to do. He can write a book about Jesus, make another Showgirls, whatever. I'm there. He's earned a couple of passes. So THR reports that he'll develop The Surrogate for Fox, with plans to direct, and I just say 'bring it'.

The basis is a book by Kathryn Mackel in which a couple, unable to conceive, hire a surrogate mother to carry their baby. The woman, naturally, turns out to be insane. I thought Tina Fey already made this movie, but I'll be happy to watch Paul Verhoeven take a crack at it.

Amazon's description has this:

Kyle and Bethany Dolan reel from years of infertility, miscarriages, and finally, a disastrous hysterectomy. They are desperate to find the perfect surrogate mother to carry their last frozen embryo. Sable Lynde, a computer genius with a dark history, is desperate to escape her own inner demons, her dark past, and a dangerous loan shark. Sable assumes the identity of a surrogacy candidate so perfect that the Dolans welcome her into their family without reservation. As the pregnancy progresses, the dangers of Sable's deception escalate until the unthinkable happens--Sable's dark demons spill out into the Dolans' lives--even as she lies in a coma.

What you need to focus on there is the word 'demons'. Because Mackel's other novels include Vanished, which is number one in the 'Christian Chiller Series' and a 'faith fiction' series called The Birthright Project. Add those sensibilities to Verhoeven's, and suddenly I really hope this gets through development.

Meanwhile, is Verhoeven next making The Winter Queen or not? Once seemed like that was a lock for him to direct, but it's still looking like it's stuck in development.