In 2010, Disney purchased the rights to A.J. Leiberman and Riley Rossmo's graphic novel
Cowboy Ninja Viking. They hired
Zombieland screenwriters
Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese to pen the script. When they turned in their final draft two years later Disney passed on it because they felt it was "too edgy." That's when
Universal Pictures swooped in and purchased the film rights. At one point
Marc Forster ("World War Z") was attached to direct but he's moved on. Outside of that we haven't heard anything new on this project, until today. Sources for
Collider have informed the site that Chris Pratt ("Guardians of the Galaxy") is now set to star in
Cowboy Ninja Viking. He'll play 'Duncan' the main protagonist. The story is about "
a schizophrenic assassin ('Duncan') working for a secret government program who possess the skills of a cowboy, a ninja, and a Viking."
Collider added:
We’re told that per the latest draft of the script, the three different personalities (the Cowboy, the Ninja, and the Viking) physically manifest onscreen as three different people when Duncan switches personalities, but to onlookers he still just looks like Duncan (ie. Pratt).