R.I.P.D. has been in development for quite a long time. Indeed things have taken so long that Zach Galifianakis, who’d been attached to the project for a long time, was forced to drop out due to scheduling issues and the fact it still isn’t clear when filming will go ahead.
However now Deadline reports Jeff Bridges is in talks to take over from Galifianakis in the Universal Pictures comic book adaptation R.I.P.D. The two actors may not seem all that similar, but it could work quite well, with Bridges being a more sober presence, keeping check on Reynolds exuberances in a way it might have been difficult for Galifianakis to contrast with.
The plot revolves around two dead cops, one recently passed away and the other a gunslinger whos been dead for hundreds of years. They work in the Rest in Peace department, which is essentially the divine police department of the dead. The new R.I.P.D. member has agreed to give 100 years service in return for a shot at finding out who killed him.
Robert Schwentke will direct R.I.P.D. from a screenplay by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, which is adapted from the comic book series created by Peter M. Lenkov.