We’ve been waiting and waiting for FX to speak up about Powers, the pilot based on the Brian Michael Bendis comic about police detectives whose beat is superpower-related crime. We had heard that FX was going to make substantial revisions to the pilot which starred Jason Patric and Lucy Punch, but it’s been ages.

Happily, during FX‘s day at the TCA Press Tour over the weekend, FX president John Lansgraf confirmed that, although substantial reshoots would be required, the network has given writer Charles Eglee the directive to not only make rewrites to the pilot script but to pen three additional scripts as well.

He told IGN earlier in the week:

(W)hat we ended up doing is hiring Chic Eglee, who had done the work on the pilot we shot. Not only to rewrite the pilot that we had shot, but to do three more episodes and put together a writing staff… So we are going to end up having four scripts for Powers. And if we elect to move forward, yeah, I think we will just go back and reshoot the pilot from scratch, with a new cast in all probability.

Although “Jason Patric certainly wants to look at the material and wants to render an opinion about whether he still wants to be involved in the project… it’s just as likely, I think, that we’d just start from scratch and reshoot it.”

We’re hopeful about Jason Patric but the biggest news is the fact that they’ve ordered additional episodes and put together a writing staff. There’s a lot of work ahead, but for now, at least, we have reason to remain cautiously optimistic.

Here’s a quick reminder of what might have been, and still may be in some form or another, from FX‘s press release dated over a year ago:

Powers is a high concept crime procedural where the detectives police the brutal and sensational crimes surrounding super power beings, while illuminating the weaknesses and strengths of humanity in the process. Powers follows the life of “Christian Walker” (Jason Patric), a homicide detective devoted solely to cases that involve “powers” (people with superpowers). The pilot also stars Lucy Punch (Bad Teacher) as “Deena Pilgrim,” Walker’s partner; Charles S. Dutton (Roc) as Walker’s indefatigable boss, “Captain Cross”; and Bailee Madison (Just Go With It) as “Calista,” an acerbic 10-year-old girl drawn into Walker’s life.

We’ll continue to keep you posted.