Daniel Casey wrote the script, whose details are being suppressed. The project is described as a subversive take on the superhero genre.

The studio is bullish on the project and hopes to get it before cameras this year, say insiders.

Avery, who hails from Australia, caught Hollywood's eye with his feature debut, Son of a Gun, a crime thriller that starred Ewan McGregor and Brenton Thwaites. That trampolined him to meet with Bad Robot and land the gig to direct Overlord. The movie, a Nazi zombie mash-up, made a sensational splatter at Paramount's Cinemacon presentation last week. It opens Oct. 26.

Avery is repped by UTA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Gang Tyre.