James Mangold is in negotiations to direct an adaptation of John D. MacDonald's 1964 novel The Deep Blue Good-by, which was the first in a long-running series of books that centered on Travis McGee.

Travis McGee lives on a houseboat in Fort Lauderdale dubbed The Busted Flush, taking on "salvage consultant" jobs whenever he is running low on money, recovering lost items for clients for half of the profits. When he meets the battered Lois, he tries to track down her abusive boyfriend, a journey which becomes far more violent and complicated than he imagined. The character, who appeared in 21 of John D. MacDonald's books, is seen as the precursor to other popular literary heroes such as Jack Reacher and Spenser: For Hire, who has a penchant of helping out damsels in distress during his adventures.

Leonardo DiCaprio was previously attached to play Travis McGee back in May, but he is no longer starring. He is still set to produce with his Appian Way partner Jennifer Davisson Killoran, along with Amy Robinson and Peter Chernin. Dennis Lehane wrote the most recent draft of the adapted screenplay, which was previously worked on by Kario Salem and Dana Stevens. No production schedule was given.

James Mangold most recently directed last year's superhero adventure The Wolverine, which he currently developing a sequel for.