Sony Pictures has made a preemptive deal for "Step Brothers," a comedy Adam McKay ("Anchorman", "Talladega Nights") will direct from a script he'll write with Will Ferrell reports Variety.

Ferrell and John C. Reilly will play coddled guys who live with their respective single parents. Their folks fall in love and marry, making the guys stepbrothers.

A projected Summer 2007 start date is set, along with a budget that will be slightly less than that for "Talladega Nights". Judd Apatow and Jimmy Miller will produce.

Sony snapped up the pitch before anyone else heard it and not only paid a hefty amount for the script, they've also already agreed to salaries for Ferrell, Reilly and McKay.