We've gotten used to seeing Jay Baruchel as the skinny, goofy sidekick in movies like Knocked Up and Tropic Thunder, but apparently there was a big comedic brain growing under that silly haircut. For the past few years Baruchel has been developing an original character, Johnny Klutz, and now he's finally found a feature vehicle to debut him to the world.

Universal has picked up the project, with Rob McKittrick writing for Baruchel to play Klutz, "a lovable loser who is impervious to pain." THR says Baruchel and Red Hour production company have been working on the character for months now, and eventually picked up McKittrick for the team. McKittrick's previous project was Waiting, with Ryan Reynolds and Anna Faris.

I think we all figured it was only a matter of time before Baruchel got his own star vehicle, but I had kind of assumed it would come through the Apatow factory. This development seems to indicate that Baruchel is an actor who wants a whole lot of control over the characters he plays from now on, and if Johnny Klutz is a success, he just might get it.