Ever since David O. Russell abandoned the director’s chair for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, many pieces of the project have been up in the air. Natalie Portman was attached to star at one point but also dropped out, leaving the movie temporarily without a director or a star. And yet, with the recent popularity of The Walking Dead on AMC, you had to assume that this property wasn’t going to stay untapped for long. Recently, there was speculation that Scarlett Johansson and Bradley Cooper had both shown interest in the film, and now it appears that Lionsgate may have finally settled on a new director. According to Deadline New York, they’ve put out an offer to School of Rock writer Mike White.

Although it’s not official just yet, it sounds like it’s close to being a done deal, and personally I think I’m more excited to see White direct than David O. Russell. Not that I necessarily think White is a better director (the only movie he has directed thus far was the Molly Shannon dramedy Year of the Dog), but I think he has a knack for dark comedies, and I think this is a great opportunity for him. He also played “Victim in Bathroom” in Zombieland, which is obviously the most useful experience of all.

White has written number of Jack Black comedies including Orange County and School of Rock (he also co-wrote Nacho Libre), but most recently he had been working on a “horror comedy” with Edgar Wright called Them based on the book by Jon Ronson (The Men Who Stare at Goats). I think he’s definitely an inspired choice to take on Seth Grahame-Smith’s Jane Austen mash-up. Does this news make you more or less interested in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?