EXCLUSIVE: James McAvoy is in talks to set into the role previously being eyed by Joaquin Phoenix in M. Night Shyamalan’s new feature project, which will go before the cameras in November. Jason Blum, who paired with the director on Universal’s recent horror film The Visit, is producing the project. Marc Bienstock also produces, while Ashwin Rajan and Steven Schneider are on board as exec producers.

The logline for the new project is being kept under wraps, but Deadline has learned that it will be on the lower end of the budget scale, more in keeping with The Visit (budgeted at $5 million and fully financed by Shyamalan) than, say, the likes of The Last Airbender ($150 million).

McAvoy, who just completed X-Men: Apocalypse for Fox and Victor Frankenstein for that studio and Davis Entertainment, is repped by United Agents in the UK and UTA. Shyamalan is repped by WME.