Two sources have told us that director Adam McKay (Anchorman, the upcoming action-comedy The Other Guys) is in serious talks with Sony Pictures to helm an adaptation of the comic book series The Boys. Near the end of April, we reported that director Samuel Bayer (the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street) said he wanted to adapt the comic, but that “The studio is really hot on [McKay]”.

We’ve been told that McKay is a die-hard comic book fan and that he’s been looking to tackle a movie in the comic book genre. I always support directors taking risks and heading out into uncharted waters in their career. Due to the extreme violence and language in the comics, I doubt we’re looking at his fifth feature film with Will Ferrell. However, just to be clear: no contracts have been signed and in Hollywood everything can change in a heartbeat. But right now, it looks likely that we’ll be hearing official word soon.

Hit the jump to learn more about the comic.

The Boys was created by writer Garth Ennis (Preacher) and illustrator Darick Robertson (Transmetropolitan). According to Wikipedia,

“The series is set in a contemporary world very much similar to the real one, with one notable exception: a number of people have some form of superpower. The series follows a superpowered CIA squad, known informally as ‘The Boys’, whose job it is to keep watch on superheroes and, if necessary, intimidate or kill them.”

The Boys are comprised of the characters, “Billy Butcher”, “Hughie Campbell”, “Mother’s Milk”, “The Frenchman”, “The Female (of the Species)”, “Lieutenant Colonel Greg D. Mallory”, and “The Legend”.

While Ennis’ work has come to rub me the wrong way (it seems like he engages in vulgarity for vulgarity’s sake), I’m excited to see what McKay would do with a project that’s so different that anything he’s done previously.