John Malkovich pressing his warm body up against Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer

Seasoned screen-scoundrel John Malkovich (who we would’ve been seing soonish as ‘The Vulture’ in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 4” – had the movie ever happened; forget I even mentioned it) is in talks to join Nicholas Hoult and Teresa ‘Tez’ Palmer in Jonathan ’50/50′ Levine’s zombie pic “Warm Bodies”. The title will be familiar to library regulars, it’s based on a book by Isaac Marion.

The book and Levine’s big-screen transfer centers on an existentially tormented zombie who begins an unlikely friendship with the girlfriend of one of his victims and starts a chain reaction that will transform him and his fellow zombies.

Hoult, who most of us remember best as the slightly irksome youngster in “About a Boy” but who has also starred on TV’s “Skins” and in “X-Men : First Class”, will play ‘existentially tormented zombie’ and talented Aussie thesp Palmer (“I Am Number Four”, “Bedtime Stories”) will play the living, breathing human of the piece.

Variety has details on Malkovich’s character :

Malkovich will play General Grigio, who’s obsessed with the destruction of the zombie threat.

Bruna Papandrea is producing through her Make Movies banner along with David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman via their Mandeville Films banner. Laurie Webb and Cori Shepherd Stern are exec producing.

Erik Feig, Summit’s President of Production, Gillian Bohrer, Summit’s VP of Production and Jeyun Choi, Summit’s Creative Executive, will oversee the project for the studio.

Role will mark another villainous turn for Malkovich, who has made a career out of playing the bad guy with infamous roles in “Con Air” and “In the Line of Fire.”

Malkovich excels at being immoral… bring it on!