Max Landis can’t stop, won’t stop. Fresh off a massive deal with Netflix for his supernatural cop thriller Bright, which has David Ayer directing and Will Smith and Joel Edgerton starring, Landis has heat on yet another one of his screenplays, this time with actor Bradley Cooper attached. Per The Wrap, Cooper is attached to star in the Landis-scripted drama Deeper, which also has White God helmer Kornel Mundruczo set to direct with Landis producing alongside David S. Goyer.

The story revolves around a disgraced astronaut who sets out on a mission to the bottom of a newly discovered oceanic trench, which is believed to be the lowest point on Earth. In the face of grave danger, “he quickly finds himself in a physical and psychological fight against mysterious forces.”


leonard-bernstein-movie-bradley-cooper
Image via CBS

Cooper would play the aforementioned astronaut, and it’s not hard to see the appeal of a role like this, which sounds like a performance showcase in the vein of Gravity or Room. Cooper has been carefully plotting his next move after a very busy 2015 that saw him appearing in four films plus a Netflix miniseries, so some time off for the four-time Oscar nominee was well earned. He reprises his voice role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but he’s also been trying to get his directorial debut off the ground, which might be a remake of A Star Is Born or the comedy/drama Honeymoon with Harry.

Landis, meanwhile, continues flaunting his superhuman ability to write and sell scripts at an insane speed, with his BBC America series Dirk Gently getting off the ground while he contributes to the new Power Rangers film. A bidding war for Deeper is now underway, but it remains to be seen if it’ll reach the heights of Bright, which sold for a whopping $90 million all-in to Netflix, $4 million of which went to Landis alone. Sometimes writing pays, kids. Sometimes.

aloha-image-bradley-cooper-2
Image via Columbia Pictures