The rich, vibrant and meaningful world of Need for Speed may well be coming to a cinema near you, as Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks Studios today announced that it has acquired the film rights to EA's racing series. Real Steel writer John Gatins is penning the script, based on no particular game, while Act of Valor co-director Scott Waugh will direct.

"I'm excited about getting back into the creative trenches with John and George Gatins and my partners at EA to bring to life an exhilarating script based on an epic video game that seems to have been made for the movies," Spielberg said.

EA and DreamWorks explained in today's joint announcement that, "The film adaptation will be a fast-paced, high-octane film rooted in the tradition of the great car culture films of the 70s while being extremely faithful to the spirit of the video game franchise."

The project is being fast-tracked at DreamWorks, set to start production early next year and hit screens in 2014. Of course, it could also all collapse and never happen, such is Hollywood. The next step for the Need for Speed franchise, though, is the new Need for Speed Most Wanted, coming on October 30 from Criterion Games.