Shawn Levy is to direct the Netflix de-ageing movie 'Backwards'.

The streaming giant prevailed in a competitive battle to adapt the short story from mother and son duo Julianna Baggott and Finneas Scott into a feature film.

The film centres on a dying father who chooses a method to extend his life that involves reverse ageing in a de-ageing facility, with his estranged daughter appointed to be his caretaker.

As the years peel off the man, the pair are able to get to the bottom of where their relationship went wrong as the father relives memories of different portions of his life and experiences that made him an unlikeable person.

Shawn and Dan Cohen are set to produce the movie for the director's 21 Laps Entertainment banner with Joby Harold and Tory Tunnell tapped to produce for Safehouse.

Baggott will serve as an executive producer along with Brendan Deneen and Josh Stanton for Blackstone Publishing.

Shawn directed the hit movie 'Free Guy' last year and explained how he realised that Taika Waititi would be perfect to play the film's villain Antwan over a FaceTime call.

The 53-year-old filmmaker recalled: "During that FaceTime, he must have changed positions in his office 30 times in under 30 minutes; lounging backward or upside down on his couch, dancing on his feet, sitting cross-legged an Zen-like in the middle of the floor.

"I realise that is a true unicorn of a personality and how perfect for the villain in the movie. Taika is such a unique, idiosyncratic and delightful individual and he brings all of that, and I have gave him a lot of leash to run with it as Antwan."