Robert Schwentke — the director of Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner's "Red" — has been approached to helm "R.I.P.D," according to The Los Angeles Times. Universal reportedly wants to film "R.I.P.D." next summer to fill a hole in Ryan Reynolds' schedule, after the "Green Lantern" star agreed to do the film earlier this year.

At the beginning of this month, director Joseph McGinty Nichol (also known as McG) was reportedly the frontrunner to direct "R.I.P.D." before passing to direct the romantic comedy "This Means War" starring Sam Worthington and Reese Witherspoon.

"R.I.P.D." — which stands for "Rest In Peace Department" — was created by Matt Lunsford, Lucas Marangon and Randy Emberlin and published by Dark Horse back in 2000. The story follows a recently murdered cop named Nick Cruz who gets a chance to find his murderer in exchange for one hundred years of service as a part of the "divine law enforcement" while partnered with a gunslinger who's been dead for hundreds of years.

Dark Horse also has a number of films optioned and in development, including Steve Niles' "Freaks of the Heartland," "Umbrella Academy" and "Fear Agent."

What are your thoughts on Robert Schwentke directing "R.I.P.D."? Should Ryan Reynolds star in "Deadpool" first or go with "R.I.P.D."? Rise from your graves and let us know what you're thinking in the comment section or on Twitter!