While many would argue that Gerard Butler needs to pick his projects with more care, as he’s starting to seem a little like the guy you get if you can’t afford someone else, Variety reports that he’s in talks to take the lead role in Afterburn, with Antoine Fuqua negotiating to direct (however, as Fuqua is attached to just about every low-rent action project at some point, don’t assume this means he’ll actually helm the movie).
Afterburn is based on the graphic novels published by Red 5 Comics and set against the backdrop of a postapocalyptic Earth whose Eastern Hemisphere was destroyed by a massive solar flare. The story centres on treasure hunters aiming to extract such items as the Mona Lisa amid competition from rival hunters, mutants and pirates.
Yup sounds pretty much like the sort of thing Gerard Butler would be in – a movie that sounds really cool from the outside, but which is going to be immensely difficult to pull of successfully. The film is being produced by Tobey Maguire’s production company, but it doesn’t look like the ex-Spider-man will star.