Filmmaker Michael Showalter is set to direct a modern retelling of the 2001 romantic comedy "Serendipity" for Amazon MGM Studios and Miramax, with original screenwriter Marc Klein returning to pen the new script. Casting is currently underway, and Showalter has described the project not as a remake or reboot but as a "rebuttal" featuring new characters and a fresh story while retaining the original title and its themes of love and fate.

The original film, directed by Peter Chelsom and starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, followed two strangers who fall for each other one Christmas Eve despite being engaged to others, only to reunite years later; it grossed over $77 million worldwide. Showalter will produce alongside Jordana Mollick for Semi-Formal Productions and original producer Simon Fields, with Jonathan Glickman, Alexandra Loewy and Thom Zadra exec producing for Miramax. It is unclear yet whether the new film will launch in theatres or on streaming, and it adds to Showalter's extensive rom-com résumé, which includes "The Idea of You," "The Big Sick" and the upcoming Colleen Hoover adaptation "Verity."