Deadline is reporting that Sony Pictures has set Overlord helmer Julius Avery to direct a live-action feature adaptation of Hiroya Oku’s acclaimed manga Gantz.
As per the trade, Gantz “tells the story of Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato, both of whom died in a train accident and become part of a semi-posthumous “game” in which they and several other recently deceased people are forced to hunt down and kill aliens armed to the teeth with all sorts of futuristic weapons and gadgets.”
Avery is set to direct the adaptation from a script by Marc Guggenheim (Green Lantern), while Temple Hill will produce. However, the project is still said to be in its early stages and is without a production start date as yet.
Director Avery’s credits include 2014’s Son of a Gun along with the J.J. Abrams-produced World War II action horror Overlord. He recently signed on to write and direct a Van Helsing movie for Universal Pictures, but next up he has the superhero thriller Samaritan starring Sylvester Stallone.
