Graphic novel adaptation Undying Love seems to be finding some luck, at least in its early development stages. First picked up by Warner Bros. back in July 2011, it now has The Grey**’s Joe Carnahan locking in a deal to re-write and direct the film.
Originally created by Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman, Undying Love focuses on a former soldier who falls for a young woman. But the path to true love – or at least some sexy times – is fraught with peril as she turns out to be a member of the fang club.
Undaunted by her vampiric ways, our hero journeys to the Hong Kong underworld to take on an army of undead beasts and slay the bloodsucker who sired her so she can be free.
The original deal allowed Coker and Freedman to take first whack at the script, which then attracted the attention of Alexandre Aja. But though he entered talks to take on the directing job, nothing has come of it. Now Carnahan will bring his particular blend of hard-hitting action to the film as he works on the script and puts it on his directorial To Do List.
“I really took to it, and the metric I use is how fast I come up with ideas and an outline, and this brought about a bunch of ideas,” he tells Deadline. “It is a little out of my wheelhouse, taking place in China with mysticism and swordplay, but there is a lot of potential here.”
Given the tough-nut nature of the leading man, you’ve got to figure The Grey’s Frank Grillo (a regular Carnahan collaborator on test reels and other projects) might be getting a phone call if the movie goes to casting…