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.

Director Alexandre Aja, who most recently helmed the camp-heavy horror pic Piranha 3D, is now poised to take on vampires. Deadline reports that Aja is in negotiations to direct an adaptation of the Image Comics title Undying Love. The story is set in modern day Hong Kong and centers on an ex-soldier who strikes up a relationship with a Chinese girl who turns out to be a vampire. The protagonist learns that the only way he can be with his love is to defeat her vampire creator, who just so happens to be one of the most powerful creatures in history and is surrounded by an army of monsters.

The pic is decidedly darker material than Piranha 3D, as the story is set against the backdrop of the Hong Kong criminal underworld. Aja has experience with straight-horror, as he also directed High Tension and the remake of The Hills Have Eyes, so he won’t be completely out of his element here. In a film climate populated only by vampires that are either whiny or incredibly horny, a darker take on the creatures is much welcomed. The comic’s creators Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman wrote the screenplay so I imagine the film won’t veer too far from the comic. Aja most recently became attached to direct an adaptation of Horns but there’s no word on whether that pic or Undying Love will go first.

Warner Bros. has acquired the Image Comics vampire-centric mini-series Undying Love. Created by Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman, Undying Love is set in modern day Hong Kong and tells the story of an ex-solider, John Sargent, who strikes up a relationship with a Chinese girl, Mei, who happens to be a vampire. As the story goes, Sargent learns that the only way he can be with Mei is to defeat the vampire responsible for her bloodsucking tendencies. Unfortunately for him, said vampire also happens to be one of the most powerful in history. Per Heat Vision, co-creators Coker and Freedman will also pen the script for Warner Bros. with Stephen L’Heureux, Chris Bender, and J.C. Spink on board to produce.