Joby Harold is in talks to write the big-screen adaptation of Scott Mitchell Rosenberg's the sci-fi comic book series "Atlantis Rising," according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Len Wiseman is directing the film, which focuses on an evil underground civilization that emerges from under the ocean to engage in a war with the rest of the world.

Harold made his feature film debut with last year's mediocre thriller "Awake," which he wrote and helmed. Producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are happy with Harold negotiating a deal.

"As a writer, Joby has an amazingly strong understanding of how to take genre seriously, which is prerequisite No. 1 for us when it comes to these kinds of movies," Kurtzman told THR.

DreamWorks is developing "Atlantis Rising." Wiseman's credits include "Underworld," "Underworld: Evolution" and "Live Free or Die Hard."