EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros is in early negotiations with Spider-Man director Jon Watts to team with Michael B. Jordan and re-develop Methusaleh as a star vehicle for the Creed II and Black Panther star to play a man who has managed to stay alive for over 400 years. Jordan’s Outlier Society has joined as producers with Heyday’s David Heyman and Jeffrey Clifford.

The plan is for them to put a writer in place to rewrite the film. Most recent draft was by Tony Gilroy. Watts is coming off directing Spider Man: Homecoming, with the sequel Spider-Man: Far From Home coming from Sony on July 5. Homecoming grossed $880 million worldwide, and expectations on the sequel are high.

Methusaleh has been a priority at Warner Bros for years, since the studio had Tom Cruise interested in playing the protagonist, with a Highlander-like mythology and a lot of franchise potential. The character has managed to survive for hundreds of years, without showing the physical signs of age. In that time, he has accumulated vast intellectual knowledge, from multiple languages to the sciences, as well as survival skills.

Jordan attached himself last month. Since signing a deal at Warner Bros, the studio acquired for Outlier Society to produce the Marlon James fantasy epic novel Black Leopard, Red Wolf.

Watts is repped by CAA Jordan is repped by WME and attorney Gregory Slewett.