Variety is reporting that Brett Ratner, director of the Rush Hour movies and X-Men: The Last Stand, has been tapped to helm the big screen adaptation of Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood comic book series.  Reliance Big Entertainment, a Mumbai-based company which signed a $1.2 billion deal with Dreamworks last September, has acquired the rights to Youngblood for a mid-six figures price.  The Indian media conglomerate has signed nine deals with the development companies of various Hollywood figures including George Clooney, Julia Roberts, and Ratner.  Reliance has also nabbed the rights to the French graphic novel Fly Wires for Ratner’s Rat Entertainment.

Youngblood, which was first published on its own in 1992 as the flagship release of the newly-formed Image Comics, is the saga of a team of superheroes working for the U.S. government.  Ratner told Variety: "Most of the great graphic novels are gone, and Youngblood is one of the few comic books left with tent-pole potential.  It was a real personal passion project for me, and a lot of people wanted Youngblood, but the amazing thing about the guys at Reliance is the speed with which they’re able to move.”

According to Variety the project is being fast-tracked along with Fly Wires, which Ratner is producing with Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) directing.