Though 30 Days of Night director David Slade is still developing a reboot of Daredevil, it looks like he may be making a different project before he tackles the superhero pic. Slade will direct the psychological thriller Villain for Wayfare Entertainment.  The story centers on “two brothers as they confront their dark past in an unforgiving wilderness.”  Production is set to take place in Alaska and producers are currently casting the two leads.  Hit the jump for more on the project and Slade's upcoming directorial projects, as well as the full press release regarding Villain.Villain actually makes one of two wilderness thrillers currently in development, as Billy Bob Thornton, Thomas Jane, and James Marsden star in the grizzly bear thriller Red Machine.  Josh Zetumer, who penned the RoboCop remake, wrote the script for Villain, and it’s described as a “gritty, dark thriller.”I’d certainly love to see Slade’s version of a wilderness thriller (one could argue that 30 Days of Night qualifies as such), but I’m hoping this doesn’t mean eventual doom for Daredevil.  He’s a great character and I’m incredibly eager to see Slade put his stamp on the superhero genre.  We recently learned that David James Kelly has been brought on to rewrite the script, so hopefully the project just needs a bit more development.Slade most recently directed The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (the most bearable film of the franchise date), and is also attached to direct an adaptation of the graphic novel Coward in addition to Daredevil.  Moreover, he’ll direct the pilot for the NBC drama series Hannibal for writer/creator Bryan Fuller, which follows the relationship between The Silence of the Lambs character Hannibal Lecter and Detective Will Graham.  Read the press release below.

Los Angeles, CA – May 8, 2012 – Wayfare Entertainment has set David Slade (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, 30 Days of Night, Hard Candy) to direct the upcoming psychological thriller, VILLAIN, written by Josh Zetumer (Robocop). Wayfare Entertainment is producing and financing the film, with shooting scheduled to take place in Alaska. VILLAIN follows two brothers as they confront their dark past in an unforgiving wilderness. Filmmakers are currently casting for the two lead roles.

Wayfare Entertainment’s Ben Browning , Sarah Shepard and Jeremy Kipp Walker will produce.  Wayfare’s Michael Maher will executive produce with Zetumer. Wayfare's Sarah Shepard brought the project into the company.

Browning said: “David is a brilliant director with an eye for gritty, dark thrillers.  He’s the perfect match for Josh's phenomenal script and we are confident that we will draw top-tier talent to the project in the coming weeks.”

Wayfare Entertainment recently closed a deal to produce an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s best-selling fantasy novel THE GRAVEYARD BOOK for Disney. In addition, Wayfare is currently in post-production on Sebastian Cordero's The Europa Report starring Sharlto Copley, and Sierra/Affinity is handling international sales.

Founded in 2008, Wayfare Entertainment is a privately-held film production and financing company. The New York-based company is led by co-founder and CEO Ben Browning and is a holding of the investment management company, Observer Capital.

Wayfare’s previous films include: SANCTUM, the epic 3D cave-diving adventure co-produced with Academy Award winning filmmaker James Cameron, released by Universal Pictures which grossed over $110 million worldwide; Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY starring Zach Galifianakis which was released by Focus Features; and Academy Award winner Neil Jordan’s ONDINE starring Colin Farrell.