Burger hired as director

The producers get studio approval to talk to filmmakers:

They will have to be great at delivering well-observed emotions in the midst of action adventure. They will need to be great at world building: having to deliver a futuristic Chicago with a whole different sociology. They will have to deliver five very distinct ways of life.  … Neil Burger quickly becomes the first choice. He had been a painter at Yale. He is a good writer, so we knew he would be smart about the challenges of the adaptation. He is great with actors.