The Earthian Expedition franchise is a space opera saga based on the bestselling novel series of the same name by sci-fi author Timothy Zahn, who has also written similar books that are part of the Star Wars Universe. Zahn is writing the screenplay for the films, which are being directed by the legendary Steven Spielberg and distributed by 20th Century FOX. Spielberg and 20th Century FOX have a contract with Zahn and his publishers at Bantam Books to make the movies based on all the books part of the series.