Kellan Lutz to rip weapons from his body in Tatua

“Twilight” castmember Kellan Lutz has signed onto the indie genre flick “Tatua”, according to Deadline.

Comic book authors Paul Jenkins and Rob Prior are responsible for the fresh concept, which fixes on “a man with a rare blood type that allows him to be tattooed with a powerful ink. He is able to pull those weapons straight off his skin, giving him an enviable leg up as a covert assassin.”

The concept certainly is unusual, as the tattooed weapons are culled from the combination of the ink, the character’s blood and adrenaline. They must be used quickly or they begin to dissolve, and the whole process takes a toll on the body of the assassin. All this becomes an afterthought when the assassin’s son is kidnapped by one of his most notoriously violent targets. The film will bear a budget around $15 million and all distribution rights are available.

The Paul Layden scripted film will be shot by Aaron Sims, who hails from the short-film world.

Rick Schwartz’s Overnight Productions – whose credits include “Machete Kills” and “The Departed” – are involved, so while it is an indy flick, it’s one with a pretty package of players behind it.

“Kellan was in the foreground and the background of the Twilight Saga films, but he is a formidable physical presence and this is an opportunity for him to step up,” Schwartz said. Also helpful is that Lutz looks good without a shirt, which will be part of the bargain as he strips tattoos off his body to create mayhem. Tatua at its heart is a cool, visually arresting origin story.”