Several weeks ago, the news broke that Richard Matheson's story story Real Steel was getting the blockbuster treatment courtesy of producer Steven Spielberg and director Shawn Levy, with Hugh Jackman the front-runner for the lead role. Today, Variety is reporting that the project has been greenlit by Dreamworks with an $80 million price tag and a June 2010 start date.

The story follows a former boxer living in a futuristic world where massive robots duke it out in the ring instead of human beings. Naturally, he comes across an underdog robot who he can train to be the best and finds out about the 11-year-old son he never knew he had. Various forms of bonding ensue. The story was previously a mediocre Twilight Zone episode starring Lee Marvin. The robots looked like walking wax figures there, so I expect we'll be getting a Transformers-esque update in that department.

This is Dreamworks' first film since securing new financing and I can see why they picked it. People like Rocky and people like Transformers and people like Hugh Jackman, and Shawn Levy tends to make movies that make a tidy profit.

However, as much as I like the idea of Jackman bonding with his long-lost child over the surely awesome sport of robot face-punching, Shawn "I Directed Night at the Museum And The Pink Panther And I'm Still Working And Getting Paid The Big Bucks" Levy hangs over this project like a dark cloud, his resume trailing behind him like toilet paper stuck to a shoe. As for Spielberg...I love the guy, but let's face it: his name is on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Can Levy surprise me? I hope so. Can Jackman fill the manly shoes of Lee Marvin? I think so. Will the struggling former boxer come to grips with his identity in a world where he is no longer needed and grow to love his son? C'mon, it's a Spielberg production. The answer is yes.