Universal acquires 'The Real McCoy' starrring Chris Pratt

Los Angeles: Universal has bought the rights to the action-adventure 'The Real McCoy' that will star Chris Pratt.

Universal won the bidding battle against Warner Bros for the movie and landed the rights to the movie after plunking down USD 1.5 million against USD 3 million, said The Hollywood Reporter.

At the centrE of the story is a bootlegger, Bill McCoy, who illegally sells rum during th United States' Prohibition era.

Being a teetotaller does not prevent him to do his job, his practice of smuggling alcohol from the Bahamas is clean, uncut and doesn't bring any chaos. This may have inspired the famous idiom "the real McCoy."

Tom McNulty will produce the project alongside Michael De Luca. Bill Dubuque, who previously wrote "The Judge", penned the script for "The Real McCoy".

This will mark De Luca's first project under his first-look deal with the studio. Pratt reportedly responded enthusiastically when McNulty and Dubuque pitched the project to him. No director is attached just yet.