Gerard Butler is in talks for the lead role in Relativity Media's adaptation of the sci-fi comic book Afterburn.  Variety reports Antoine Fuqua (Shooter) is in negotiations to direct. Paul Ens and Scott Chitwood penned the script, working from a first draft by Matt Johnson (Torque).  Tobey Maguire is producing along with Neal Moritz (Fast & Furious), Toby Jaffe (Life or Something Like It), and Jenno Topping (Catch and Release).

The comic is set in the near future, when "a massive solar flare strikes the dayside of the Earth, utterly destroying the Eastern Hemisphere."  Butler will presumably play Jake, who earns his keep retrieving treasured objects (i.e. The Mona Lisa) from the quarantine zone with his team of "recovery experts."  Hit the jump for the official synopsis.

In the near future, a massive solar flare strikes the dayside of the Earth, utterly destroying the Eastern Hemisphere. Europe, Africa, Asia, India and Russia are turned into wastelands. What life remains becomes mutated from radiation and fallout. This is the backdrop for Red 5 Comics’ adventure series, AFTERBURN.

Beneath the ash, death and tragedy, treasures both modern and ancient lay unclaimed. Enter Jake and his team of “recovery experts”. For the right price, they are willing to enter the quarantine zone to retrieve items for rich Western clients. The Mona Lisa, the Rosetta Stone, the Crown Jewels — no job is too big or small. Along the way, they must face rival treasure hunters, rogue armies, pirate gangs, and hostile mutants. But as the saying goes — amid chaos, there’s profit. [Red 5 Comics]