Edgar Wright in Negotiations to Direct Johnny Depp in Disneys Night Stalker

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Edgar Wright is in negotiations to direct The Night Stalker, Disney confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter Wednesday. The Disney production stars Johnny Depp and is a big-screen update of the 1970s television property.

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Wrights last film was Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, an acclaimed adaptation of Bryan Lee OMalleys comic book of the same name, which performed poorly at the box office but has since found an audience on cable and home video. After Scott Pilgrim and his two collaborations with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, the directors genre cred is virtually unassailable, making him an ideal choice for bringing the supernatural-themed material to life.

Originally based on the novel The Kolchak Papers by Jeff Rice, The Night Stalker follows newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak who investigates supernatural occurrences. Depp will play the title role and serve as the projects producer alongside Christi Dembrowski, Depps partner at Infinitum Nihil.

Theres no word how this will affect Wrights longtime efforts to bring the Marvel Comics character Ant-Man to the screen, but the filmmaker may be paving the way for that project: Disney owns Marvel, so the directing job might be part of a deal to do the adaptation next.