Aaron Johnson Versus "Godzilla"?

Aaron Johnson is currently the frontrunner to play the lead in the upcoming "Godzilla" reboot says Deadline. At this point though no deal is in place yet, or even close to being inked; Johnson is awaiting "The Shawshank Redemption" director Frank Darabont's draft of the script.

David Callahan, David Goyer Drew Pearce and Max Borenstein have all worked on previous drafts of the screenplay.

The film has been in the pipeline for several years, but picked up steam recently - after a proof of concept trailer screened twice during Comic-Con 2012 and got great reaction. The project will "return the character to its epic roots with a gritty, realistic actioner".

The film will be directed by Gareth Edwards ("Monsters").

Goyer, Borenstein, Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni will produce.

Roy Lee, Dan Lin Brian Rogers. Alex Garcia Patricia WhitcherDoug Davison, Yoshimitsu Banno and Kenji Okuhira will serve as executive producers.

The film will get a 3-D release, but it's unclear if it is being shot that way or converted in post production. The big guy returns to theaters on May 16th 2014.

Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are now in a legal tussle over the property--which could set things back