Gerard Butler in talks for Universal’s ‘The Raven’

Gerard Butler is reportedly in talks to join The Raven, a sci-fi project for Universal and Gold Circle that Ricardo de Montreuil will direct.

The film is based on de Montreuil’s 2010 short film of the same title, which Universal got the rights to in December 2010. According to The Wrap, the studio will distribute the film worldwide and co-finance with Gold Circle. Paul Brooks of Gold Circle is producing with Mark Wahlberg and Leverage's Steve Levinson. Underground Films’ Nick Osborne, Trevor Engelson and Oly Obst are the executive producers.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Liam Hemsworth was interested at one point, but that version never materialized.

Michael Gilio wrote the script, based on Antonio Perez and de Montreuli’s script for the short. De Montreuil is still directing the feature.

The plot of the short has a young man with superpowers in Los Angeles being chased by police and tracked by a flying vehicle.

Gold Circle and Universal previously collaborated on the hit comedy Pitch Perfect. As for Butler, after a string of flops, Olympus Has Fallen helped his career by grossing $131 million worldwide.