EXCLUSIVE: Eric Pearson has been set to rewrite Cowboy Ninja Viking, the Universal Pictures film that will star Chris Pratt with Michelle MacLaren directing. Pearson is coming off Thor: Ragnarok. The attitude-laced hard-edged actioner is based on the Image Comics graphic novel by AJ Lieberman and illustrator Riley Rossmo.

Pearson takes over an earlier draft written by Craig Mazin, who rewrote the original by Paul Wernick & Everett David Reese. Pratt stars as an assassin who manifests the toughest skills of three different personas: Cowboy Ninja Viking. Aside from Thor: Ragnarok, Pearson has been busy. For Legendary, he is scripting Nonplayer, the comic book series from writer-illustrator Nate Simpson. Pearson contributed pre-production and/or post-production writing on Ant Man, Spiderman: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, the untitled Avengers 4 and Legendary’s Detective Pikachu and Pacific Rim 2. Pearson came through the the Marvel Studios writers’ program. Along with several screenplays, he wrote a majority of the short films from the Marvel One Shot series including Agent Carter which went on to become an ABC series. Pearson wrote on both seasons of that show.

MacLaren recently took the helm after executive producing and directing the pilot of The Deuce, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Franco. Her directing work on the small screen includes Game of Thrones, Westworld and The Walking Dead.

Pic’s being produced by Entertainment 360, eOne’s Mark Gordon, Michael De Luca and Chris Pratt.

The film will be released by Universal on Friday, June 28, 2019. Uni veep of Production Sara Scott will oversee.

Pearson is represented by ICM Partners and attorney David Colden.