Universal Pictures has won a bidding war for “Agent 13,” and is finalizing a deal to acquire the red-hot package WME took out this week that has Charlize Theron attached to star and Rupert Wyatt attached to direct from a script by T.S. Nowlin.

Theron will produce the sci-fi action pic with her Denver and Delilah Prods. partner Beth Kono, as well as A.J. Dix, who recently joined the company from Tower Hill Entertainment. Sean Daniel and Jason Brown will produce for the Sean Daniel Company, which is behind Universal’s planned reboot of “The Mummy” franchise. Union Entertainment, which reps the rights holders of the source material, will also produce.

Should a deal close, Theron would be back in business with the studio behind her summer tentpole “Snow White and the Huntsman.” All of the other major studios except for Disney chased the project.

Story, which is based on an obscure series of novels from the 1980s by David Marconi and Flint Dille, is said to involve an inter-dimensional border patrol. While plot details remain under wraps, sources familiar with the project tell Variety that Theron will not play the title character, who is male.

Coming off strong reviews for her perf in the Denver and Delilah-produced “Young Adult,” Theron next stars in Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus.” Wyatt recently directed the 20th Century Fox blockbuster “Rise of the Apes,” while Nowlin is writing “Wild Guns” for Gianni Nunnari’s Hollywood Gang Prods.

Universal’s next action-adventure pic, “Battleship,” is set to open stateside on May 18.

WME reps Theron, Nowlin and Wyatt, who is also repped by Independent Talent Group. Caliber Media manages Nowlin.

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Charlize Theron has been named the recipient of the Distinguished Decade of Achievement in Film Award from the National Association of Theatre Owners.

The actress will be presented with the award at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on April 26, reports The Wrap.

The managing director of CinemaCon, Mitch Neuhauser, said of Theron: “Over the past decade, Charlize Theron has proven that as an actor, she can do it all. Whether her role be comedic or dramatic, she never ceases to entertain audiences with her unique ability to capture the essence of any character.

“Her thought-provoking, engaging and riveting performances have garnered her critical acclaim and multiple awards and nominations.”

Theron, who won an Academy Award for Best Actress for 2003′s Monster, will next be seen in cinemas in Snow White and the Huntsman opposite Kristin Stewart, and in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi epic Prometheus alongside Michael

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