True Blood and Magic Mike actor Joe Manganiello is set to star in and produce a feature adaptation of Keith C. Blackmore’s zombie thriller, Mountain Man. The Mountain Man books, of which there are seven, centers on a man named Gus Berry who, according to the blurb for the first novel, “must survive the zombie apocalypse armed with only a shotgun, a Samurai bat, and the will to live among the unliving.”
Here’s the rest of the description for the first book, Mountain Man, to give you more details on the story:
It’s been two years since civilization ended in an unstoppable wave of chaos and blood. Now, former house painter Augustus “Gus” Berry lives a day-to-day existence of waking up, getting drunk, and preparing for the inevitable moment when “they” will come up the side of his mountain and penetrate his fortress. Living on the outskirts of Annapolis, Gus goes scavenging for whatever supplies remain in the undead suburbia below. Every time he descends the mountain could be his last. But when Gus encounters another survivor, he soon realizes the zombie horde may not be the greatest threat he faces.
According to Deadline, the other survivor is a “captivating woman who poses another threat altogether.” Manganiello will play Gus, and the project has John Lee (False Positive) on board to direct, with a script written up by Matt Deller. Manganiello will be producing along with his brother, Nick, via their company 3:59, as well as Danny Chan (Barbarian).
“John is a brilliant creative mind. We’ve been looking for the right thing to do together since we filmed Pee Wee’s Big Holiday and it’s finally here,” Joe and Nick Manganiello told Deadline. “Very excited to get to work on such weird, wild project with him.”
No news on when this project will go into production, though the team is looking to sell it at Cannes this year.
