I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Game of Thrones and Skyrim made dragons cool again — if only because dragons have always been cool — but it wouldn’t surprise this writer if, in fact, TV and video games played a little role in this pick-up. As it goes, Variety reports that Legendary Pictures are putting some stock in Slayer, an action spec from Martin Helgeland (son of L.A. Confidential scribe Brian Helgeland).

Set in the modern day, this story revolves around a doctor who, in the wake of his father’s death, somehow discovers his own dragon-slaying heritage. (Most people only get the deed to a house.) The scribe’s father will executive produce, while Warner Bros. is expected to distribute.

Next up, Variety also tells us that — in a wonderful case of consistent naming — Black Forest Film Group have attained rights to the spec script Black River. (You can make all “black [nature object]” jokes in the comments.) Ransom Riggs, author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children — which Tim Burton has been paying some attention to — has written the psychological thriller, which centers on “a small-town girl who has been haunted by a dead girl’s spirit ever since her own near-fatal accident.” When her college friends begin to die, the deceased girl’s own history must be uncovered and, we can imagine, her tyranny put to an end. Mark Morgan (Twilight), Kami Garcia (Beautiful Creatures), Brett Hudson, and E. Thompson will produce.

Are you into either spec, based on the information that’s been made available?