Darren Aronofsky has signed on to develop and direct Machine Man for Mandalay Pictures.
The “amped up pop-thriller” will see him reteam with Black Swan writer Mark Heyman (who was also a co-producer on The Wrestler). The idea is to make this Aronofsky’s next project following Wolverine 2, reports say.
The project is based on a partial manuscript by Max Barry that Mandalay picked up last year. Mandalay has a first-look deal with Universal.
Cathy Schulman will produce, Barry is an executive producer.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, the story centers on a gadget geek and engineer at a forward-thinking tech firm who is tired of going through life average and unnoticed and is also obsessed with his own self-improvement. He decides to replace his weak, fleshy parts with high-end titanium performance upgrades of his own design but then discovers others have designs on him for their own motives.
Barry published Machine Man as an online serial beginning on March 18, 2009, and ending on Dec. 1. Suggestions from readers were integrated into the plot as the story unfolded. His novel will be published by Vintage Books in spring 2011.
