Paramount Pictures has picked up the action-adventure spec "The Further Adventures of Doc Holliday" from Chad St. John, with plans to adapt the project into a Western-style tentpole akin to 'Pirates of the Caribbean'.

The studio is keeping the plot under wraps, but the story is described as a history-based action adventure tale in the vein of Pirates. Holliday is the famously tuberculosis-ridden gunfighter best known for his friendship with Western lawman Wyatt Earp and for his role in 1881’s Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Ariz.

The character is historically interesting, and has also been a great source of drama in the past, perhaps most recently as personified by Val Kilmer in 1993's Tomstone. Holliday developed a reputation as a 'gentleman criminal', yet corroboration of his wrongdoings was never apparent; falling into the category of hearsay only.

Hollywood's love affair with the Western has been on again, off again since the late '60s, with occasional entries in the genre every few years. The concept of creating a series of new Westerns strikes as interesting, and if the casting is right, it could be strong material. The recent remake of 3:10 to Yuma, despite a controversial ending, was well executed and had a cast capable of bringing the bygone era to life for a contemporary audience.

We're looking forward to seeing how this comes together over at Paramount.