Now that his Daredevil film is off the table, Joe Carnahan is free to look for other projects to keep him occupied. As it turns out, reports say he isn’t drifting too far from the comic-book world, choosing to direct an adaptation of the popular graphic novel Undying Love for Warner Bros.
Carnahan picks up the gig after Piranha 3D director Alexandre Aja passed (or, at least, considered). He tells Deadline that the material in Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman’s book really inspired him once he started digging into the story. “It is a little out of my wheelhouse, taking place in China with mysticism and swordplay, but there is a lot of potential here,” he said.
Carnahan’s on a bit of a high right now, collecting raves for his survival drama The Grey (which he’s still kind of pushing for Oscar consideration, despite its January release date). He probably has the pick of the litter in terms of potential screenplays, so it’s interesting to hear that he’s pulled to Undying Love, for assorted reasons.
The story revolves around a former soldier who falls in love with a girl who happens to be a vampire. In order to be with her for the rest of the unnatural lives, he must face off against her creator … who happens to be a Hong Kong crime lord who is protected by levels and levels of ruthless killers. Casting will be crucial to the success of Undying Love, because Carnahan has shown in his past films that he’s capable of directing high-octane action. We’ll continue to track Undying Love as it moves into production.
