A film based on DC Comics' villains-turned-off-the-books-operations team "Suicide Squad" is in development, and Warner Bros. has director David Ayer in mind, as reported Friday by Variety. It's said the status of negotiations is "unknown," but Ayer -- who wrote and directed "End of Watch" and "Sabotage" -- has interest the project.

The film has a script by Justin Marks, who wrote "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" and has been attached to an adaptation of "FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics," based on a series from DC's Vertigo imprint. Dan Lin, whose previous credits include "The LEGO Movie" and "Sherlock Holmes," is set to produce. Fury, who wrote acclaimed 2001 film "Training Day" and co-wrote the original "The Fast and the Furious," also directed the World War II film "Fury," which stars Brad Pitt and is scheduled for release next month.

The name "Suicide Squad" has history at DC Comics dating back to 1959, but the most famous version was introduced in 1986 by writer John Ostrander. In this version, the Suicide Squad are imprisoned supervillains who take on high-risk missions for the US government in exchange for decreased sentences, traditionally under the supervision of government agent Amanda Waller. Frequent members include Deadshot, Bronze Tiger and Captain Boomerang. There's no word yet on which characters may be included in a potential film adaptation, but Variety states, "all the characters included in the film will most likely have an opportunity to cross-over between other DC properties and vice versa for non-Suicide Squad members appearing in this film."

The Suicide Squad appeared on the last season of The CW's DC Comics-based series "Arrow," with a lineup consisting of Deadshot, Shrapnel, Bronze Tiger and Lyla Michaels. DC's current series featuring the concept, "New Suicide Squad," includes Black Manta, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Joker's Daughter and Harley Quinn in the cast.

In August, Warner Bros. claimed nine release dates -- stretching from 2016 to 2020 -- for as-yet unannounced DC Comics films, with "Suicide Squad" presumably eyed for one of those slots.