Could rotund funnyman Zach Galifianakis be playing it straight (and dead) in the near future? The actor is eyeing up a role alongside this summer’s superhero Green Lantern, Ryan Reynolds, in crime drama fantasy R.I.P.D.

Based on a popular Dark Horse comic, Rest In Peace Department is tale of dead police officers who keep watch over the underworld. Think Beetlejuice (without the laughs) meets Lethal Weapon.

German director Robert Schwentke (coming off the hit ensemble actioner Red) is onboard to direct and Galifianakis, if cast, would play a dead police officer who gets mixed up with a revenge plot exacted by a recently murdered policeman (Reynolds).

It would be nice to see Galifianakis tackle something a little different. He’ll next be seen on the big screen revisiting the role that launched him into the limelight – he’s back playing big-hearted weirdo Alan Garner role in The Hangover 2.

News via the LA Times