Spielberg saddles up with WAR HORSE

From ComingSoon.net:

"Steven Spielberg has chosen to next direct War Horse. DreamWorks Pictures acquired the rights to Michael Morpurgo's World War I novel of the same name in December.

Scholastic describes the title as follows:

'In 1914, Joey, a beautiful bay-red foal with a distinctive cross on his nose, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges toward the enemy, witnessing the horror of the battles in France. But even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey´s courage touches the soldiers around him and he is able to find warmth and hope. But his heart aches for Albert, the farmer's son he left behind. Will he ever see his true master again?'

The studio has set an August 10, 2011 release for the film."

This sounds interesting - almost Black Stallion in WWI. As long as we don't hear the horse's thoughts.

But in picking up War Horse, what has Spielberg dropped:

From MTV Movies Blog:

"Harvey
Spielberg was set to direct Harvey, a remake of the classic 1950 film starring Jimmy Stewart as a man with an invisible 6-foot-tall rabbit for his best friend. But in December, Spielberg backed away from the project after a year and a half of development. [He also almost cast Robert Downey Jr.]

Indiana Jones 5
From producer Frank Marshall to actor Shia LaBeouf, several Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull participants are expecting Spielberg to swing back into the adventure franchise — but Harrison Ford is still waiting on the script.

Lincoln
How could we forget Spielberg's proposed Abraham Lincoln biopic that would have seen Liam Neeson starring as the 16th President of the United States? The film has still not come to fruition, with the last update coming nearly two years ago.

Matt Helm
Last July, Spielberg's name was dropped in connection with Matt Helm, a spy thriller based on the secret agent novel series from Donald Hamilton. The project was always in doubt, however, due to tricky ties between Spielberg's DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures.

Pirate Latitudes
DreamWorks announced development of Pirate Latitudes last year, though it was unclear at the time whether or not Spielberg himself would direct the film. The movie is an adaptation of the late Michael Crichton's novel about piracy in the 17th century.

Robopocalypse
Cloverfield screenwriter Drew Goddard is adapting Daniel H. Wilson's Robopocalypse about... well, just read the title and you'll have a good sense for the plot. Spielberg was mentioned as a possible director for the project just last month.

Untitled Gershwin Biopic
Star Trek actor Zachary Quinto was mentioned as a candidate to headline an untitled Gershwin biopic for Spielberg back in February. For all of you artless barbarians out there, George Gershwin is the man responsible for some of the most memorable Broadway shows of all time. Believe it."