Comic artist Dan Brereton’s groovy painted graphic novel The Psycho is now one more step closer to hitting screens thanks to Universal, who has handed the project to scribe Chris Morgan, the writer of their dubious trilogy-ender Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift (although if the first two movies were any indication, the new flick’s story won’t exactly be overly complicated).

The comic story took place on an alternate timeline where the US focused on creating a super-serum rather than developing the bombs that ultimately helped end WWII. Our superpowered soldiers killed Hitler in 1941 and proliferated ever since then. Known as F.C.O.s (Freelance Costumed Operatives), these "Psychos" now keep the country strong by dealing with enemies. An undercover intelligence agent assigned to collect data on these superbeings uncovers a conspiracy, and his only chance of survival is to undergo the dangerous XDL treatment, which can result in painful death as easily as give superhuman abilities.

The project, in development for several years now (and unrelated to the Bates), last had The Day After Tomorrow scribe Jeffrey Nachmanoff working on it, but Morgan (previously a script doctor) will apparently be stepping in for a full rewrite. Meanwhile, I’m still hoping for a movie based on Brereton’s kaiju-filled Giantkiller comic…