It sounds like Joe Carnahan (The Grey) will take on writing and directing duties for an adaptation of Undying Love, a graphic novel series created by Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman. The story centers on John Sargent, an ex-soldier who falls in love with a Chinese woman, only to find out that she's a vampire. The only way they can be together is if Sargent can defeat her incredibly powerful creator. We previously reported that Coker and Freedman were writing the script for Warner Bros., but Carnahan's deal would have him writing up another draft as well as directing. Hit the jump for more on this story, including a quote from Carnahan himself.Deadline reported that Carnahan was in talks to write and direct Undying Love for Warner Bros. Director Alexandre Aja (Piranha 3D) was previously attached to helm the picture but it appears that's no longer the case. Aja, who is currently filming the Horns adaptation starring Daniel Radcliffe, is well-versed in horror so this seemed like a fairly appropriate pairing. Carnahan, on the other hand, is a solid action director; experience which will lend itself well to the more up-tempo parts of this project. Carnahan himself noted the distinction in a recent comment about how he decided to focus on Undying Love:

“I really took to it, and the metric I use is how fast I come up with ideas and an outline, and this brought about a bunch of ideas. It is a little out of my wheelhouse, taking place in China with mysticism and swordplay, but there is a lot of potential here.”

There's no word at this time as to where Undying Love will fit into Carnahan's schedule or what this means for his potential Death Wish reboot.

Here's the description of book one in the graphic novel series (via Amazon):

A tale of horror-action, equal parts vampire mythology and Chinese folklore, set in modern day Hong Kong. Ex-soldier John Sargent has fallen for a beautiful Chinese woman named Mei. The only thing keeping the star-crossed lovers apart: she's a vampire. To free Mei from the curse, Sargent sets out to destroy the vampire that made her. The only problem: Mei was turned by one of the most powerful vampires in history...