'Breaking Bad''s Jonathan Banks joins NBC's 'Bloodline'

You can tell that AMC's "Breaking Bad" is drawing to a close, as many of the actors are already announcing future projects. Anna Gunn, who plays Skylar White on the series, has signed on to the lead role of Bravo's "Rita" while her on-screen sister Betsy Brandt has been cast opposite Michael J. Fox in his anticipated new project.

Next in line, it appears, is Jonathan Banks. Mike the fixer has agreed to star in the new NBC pulp-thriller "Bloodline."

The series centers on Bird Benson, a young orphan who finds herself unwittingly caught in the middle of a ferocious gang war between two rival families of mercenaries and killers. Mentored by a Chinese sensei, Bird must come to grips with the fact that she must defeat her (apparently alive) mother in mortal combat in order to move on to a normal life.

Banks' character is reportedly named Leo Killpreist, patriarch of one of the ancient lines of killers embroiled in the war. Killpreist is a powerful, forceful guy, rooted in the clan's old ways and concerned that the rest of his family of killers may be wiped out if they cannot reconcile their old ways with the new. In an attempt to save his bloodline, he is building an army for one more showdown with his rival clan.

The script comes from David Granziano ("Awake"), who will executive produce along with Sarah Aubrey and the pilot's director Peter Berg. The concept has a very cool "Kill Bill" vibe to it, and Banks as the Big Bad is never a bad idea.