In exchange for making the world safe for mankind, Hercules may get his own Brett Ratner movie

Brett Ratner is now looking to put his greasy mitts on a modern update of Hercules, according to the L.A. Times, having entered talks with action-movie mercenary Avi Lerner to direct Lerner’s long-in-the-making retelling of the mythological demigod, whom somebody like Extra will probably refer to as “the original action hero.” You may recall that Ratner was once attached to direct the upcoming reboot of Conan for Lerner—or then again you may not, as it seems like every other day Brett Ratner’s name is attached to something, like a tick hiding in tall grass. But while Conan was eventually handed to former music-video director Marcus Nispel, a Ratnered Hercules project is said to be “gaining momentum,” with a screenplay that’s expected to “bring Lerner’s classic action ethos to the larger-than-life character.” That “classic action ethos”—seen in more than 200 films like Cyborg Cop, Cyborg Soldier, U.S. Seals, Mansquito, SharkMan, the 2008 Rambo, and the upcoming The Expendables—should pair nicely with Ratner’s own, like a fine 2008 Boone’s Farm with a Beef ‘N Cheese Slim Jim.

On a side note, we passed an editorial policy not long ago that all Brett Ratner stories will feature the above photo from now on. Hope you like it.