Interest in Johnny Depp’s attempt to bring cult supernatural TV series / movies The Night Stalker to the big screen surged in February, when it was announced that one Edgar Wright would be lending his directorial vision to the project. We wondered when things would get moving on the development front, and now comes word that High Fidelity co-writer D.V. DeVincentis has been hired to work on the script.

While the original Darren McGavin-starring TV movies spawned a show that only ran for one season, the compelling concept quickly gained a fevered following when the series hit syndication across the pond.

Stalker follows Carl Kolchak, a Chicago-based reporter who investigates weird crimes and usually ends up tangling with otherworldly creatures. Depp would be stepping into Kolchak’s shoes, though we don’t know what threat he’ll yet be facing. Perhaps the more supernatural elements shed from The Lone Ranger for budgetary reasons could find a home here?

DeVincentis, who also worked on Grosse Pointe Blank, most recently wrote gambling comedy drama Lay The Favourite for Fidelity director Stephen Frears. Depp is currently on screen in Dark Shadows and is filming The Lone Ranger. Wright, who has been busy working on the web project The Random Adventures Of Brandon Generator (about which he talks more in our special Edgar Wright podcast edition), is also tooling up to start making The World’s End with old muckers Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.