Jordan Vogt-Roberts‘ mysterious monster movie has a writer. The Kong: Skull Island director has been developing a creature feature for New Regency since last year, teaming up with Michael B. Jordan and his Outlier Society production company to produce the movie that will be set in Vogt-Roberts’ hometown of Detroit, Michigan. Nearly a year after the project was first announced, New Regency has tapped The Boondocks writer Rodney Barnes to pen the script for the unnamed monster movie.

The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop that Barnes has been hired as the Jordan Vogt-Roberts monster movie writer. The writer behind the acclaimed adult-targeted animated series The Boondocks and the Chris Rock sitcom Everybody Hates Chris will be penning the script for the project, which was picked up by New Regency in March.

Not much is known about the unnamed monster movie since it was announced last year, apart from its Detroit setting and genre. The involvement of a major screen star like Jordan certainly has sparked some speculation that the Just Mercy actor could take the leading role, but there’s no word on whether he will do any more than produce through his Outlier Society banner alongside Alana Mayo.

The idea for the film came from Vogt-Roberts, who told /Film last year that he “got jealous and inspired by the incredible things [Michael] Dougherty and [Adam] Wingard are doing right now, so I’m creating my own sandbox to play in.”

Dougherty recently directed Godzilla: King of the Monsters while Wingard is working on Godzilla vs. Kong. It seems that Vogt-Roberts is aiming to make a low-key, personal affair out of this passion project, which Barnes will be able lend an air of authenticity with his background in shows and projects about the black experience in America. Barnes has also recently written episodes of and acted as co-executive producer on the Marvel-based series Runaways and American Gods. He is currently working on HBO’s untitled 1980s-era Los Angeles Lakers drama pilot.

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