‘Ain’t Them Bodies Saints’ Director Takes on ‘Torso’

David Lowery, whose 'Ain't Them Bodies Saints' was a hit at this year's Sundance film festival, is the latest director attached to direct an adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis' graphic novel, 'Torso.'

'Torso,' the acclaimed graphic novel by Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko, is a project that's been in development as a film project for a very long time, but THR reports that a new director has stepped up to the plate to tackle the project: David Lowery, who debuted 'Ain't Them Bodies Saints' at this year's Sundance festival to much praise, has been tapped to helm the film.

Lowery follows in the footsteps of David Fincher, who was once attached to direct for Paramount with Matt Damon attached to star, but the studio backed out due to a high budget and concerns that Fincher's determination to film in black and white would deter audiences -- and it's too bad, because 'Torso' is in Fincher's wheelhouse.

The story follows the true story of famed FBI agent Elliot Ness, as he moves to Cleveland following the Al Capone case and gets caught up in a serial killer case involving a murderer whose trademark is dumping torsos in the river.

Now that the film rights belong to Bendis and Andreyko, the pair are going for something a little more low key, hiring Lowery on for an indie-minded approach to true crime storytelling. Lowery has been keeping busy post-'Saints,' signing on to write a remake of 'Pete's Dragon' for Disney and getting involved with Robert Redford for 'The Old Man and the Gun.'