Keanu Reeves and Guillermo del Toro working on separate Dr. Jekyll film projects for Universal

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal is developing a modern retelling of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with Keanu Reeves attached to star and Justin Haythe, who wrote Revolutionary Road, writing the screenplay.

Nicolas Winding Refn, who directed the Pusher trilogy and the critically acclaimed Bronson, is in negotiations to direct the project, which will be titled simply Jekyll.

Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale follows a doctor who scientifically develops an evil inner-self that goes out of control. The most recent iteration of the popular story was a 2007 BBC miniseries with the story set in the present as Hyde ran wild in London.

According to the report, Universal has been developing yet another take on the same tale with Guillermo del Toro, although that version aims to stick more closely to the original Stevenson text. Del Toro’s project is also on the slow track, as the filmmaker works for the next five years or so on The Hobbit epic for New Line and MGM. He will probably tackle one or two other Universal film projects before his Jekyll vision as well, so there isn’t expected to be any conflicts between the two features.