20th Century Fox has recruited Stranger Things director Becca Thomas to direct an adaptation of James Wan's comic series, Malignant Man. Per THR, The Conjuring and Aquaman filmmaker is attached to produce Malignant, which is based on the Boom! Studios comic he co-created with writer Michael Alan Nelson (Hexed) and artist Piotr Kowalski. Boom!’s Ross Richie and Stephen Christy will also produce alongside Wan, operating through his Atomic Monster label.

The sci-fi thriller follows Alan Gates, a man diagnosed with terminal cancer and resigned to his imminent death until he discovers that his tumor isn't deadly cancer but a mysterious alien parasite. Gates not only gets a new lease on life, he discovers extraordinary powers and "must fight against an evil army buried beneath society's skin, all the while unlocking the secrets of his forgotten past." (via Boom! Studios).

The screenplay comes from Lights Out co-producer Zak Olkewicz. For Thomas, Malignant is the latest in a series of exciting projects to come the director's way. After making her feature debut with the 2012 indie drama, Electrick Children, Thomas directed an episode of MTV's short-lived but well-loved Sweet/Vicious and a Season 2 episode of the Netflix sensation Stranger Things, which drops in October. She is one of only two directors, the other being Toy Story scribe and Finding Nemo director Andrew Stanton, to join Shawn Levy and the Duffer Brothers behind the camera for the second season. Thomas is also attached to Universal's live-action The Little Mermaid movie and Paramount's adaptation of the John Green bestseller Looking for Alaska, both of which are still in development.

San Andreas director Brad Peyton was previously attached to Malignant.