Chris Pratt's Cowboy Ninja Viking Still Searching For Director

04/27/2017 11:46 pm EDT

For years, Chris Pratt was known as the chubby and hilarious Andy Dwyer on NBC's Parks and Recreation. But that was just a supporting role on under-watched television series. But once Guardians of the Galaxy came out in August 2014, the actor became an overnight Hollywood star -- fielding offers left and right.

Three months later, Universal signed the red-hot Pratt to star in their feature film adaptation of A.J. Lieberman and Riley Rossmo's graphic novel, Cowboy Ninja Viking. Although there has hardly been any news on the project since then, Pratt confirmed that he is still attached.

"It's still in development," Pratt told Collider (via SR), while doing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 press. "It's definitely no joke. We've got a deal and we're moving forward. It's going to be [with] Universal. It's going to be really, really fantastic … We don't have a director. It's together, it's being put together. But we're in the process of talking to directors."

World War Z director Marc Forster was attached to direct Cowboy Ninja Viking two years before Pratt signed on, but he moved on long ago. In January 2015, Variety reported that John Wick helmers, David Leitch and Chad Stahelski, were in early talks to direct, but no deal was met.

Pratt will play Duncan, a Multiple Personality Disorder patient forcibly turned into a Triplet assassin, so named for having three separate personalities with three separate skill sets: cowboy, ninja, and viking. The plot involves Duncan escaping from the government agency that handles him and hunting down the billionaire who backs the program.

According to Collider, Duncan's "three different personalities (the Cowboy, the Ninja, and the Viking) physically manifest onscreen as three different people when Duncan switches personalities, but to onlookers he still just looks like Duncan (ie. Pratt)."

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Set to the backdrop of 'Awesome Mixtape #2,' Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team's adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill's true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes' aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is scheduled to hit theaters on May 5, 2017.

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