I’ve got good news, bad news, and further good news. The first good news is that the Chippendales movie you may remember reading about in 2014 has been revived yet again, and seemingly for real this time, with Ben Stiller and Dev Patel attached to star. The bad news is that Patel will not be doing any of the stripping in the film. The other good news is that Stiller won’t, either.

Described in a new item on Deadline as a cross between Magic Mike and Scarface, the dark origin story of male strip club chain Chippendales is finally poised to become real after twenty years of development hell. It’s an engrossing yarn of murder and betrayal in ’80s Los Angeles, possibly the sleaziest time-place pairing in American history after New York in the ’70s and New Jersey always. Patel will portray Steve Banerjee, the founder who capitalized on a zeitgeist of excess and hedonism to create a sensation worth millions. Stiller joins him as Nick DeNoia, the TV veteran who saw gold in them thar hills and recruited the thong-clad performers for Banerjee. As a small empire grew out of inspired tackiness and female ogling, greed consumed the men and their partners. The Deadline item tells the full story, but suffice it to say the yarn ends in a coke-fueled body count.

As the report mentions, a director is the last missing bit in this equation, with Oliver Stone, David Michod, and Tony Scott all formerly involved with the project. If the producers are still taking suggestions, I’d like to recommend David O. Russell. A late-20th-century period piece all hopped up on club drugs, with a focus on the folly of crime and avarice? The American Hustle vibes are strong with this one.

More From ScreenCrush