John August is in negotiations with DreamWorks to write the studio’s feature film adaptation of “Monsterpocalypse,” a strategy game played with collectible miniature figures.

And much like the monstrous beasties stomping around that board, there are major players, studios and schedules that may get shifted around, even pitted against one another, if the project moves forward.

First, the latest development raises the possibility that August will reteam with Tim Burton, whom DreamWorks has been wooing to take on the project as its director. DreamWorks, which grabbed film rights to the “Monsterpocalypse” property last month, hasn’t yet nailed down the “Alice in Wonderland” billion-dollar man. Talks are, however, ongoing.

If that deal comes together, it would be the fourth collaboration between August and Burton, following “Big Fish,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Corpse Bride.” But the two also have a feature adaptation of the ’60s TV show “Dark Shadows” in development at Warner Bros. with Burton regular Johnny Depp attached.

Both Depp and producer Graham King have suggested that “Shadows” could film by the end of the year, after the actor shoots the fourth “Pirates of the Caribbean” installment for Disney this summer. But Depp might want to take a break after shooting “The Tourist” for Columbia and GK Films, which would push back the production of “Pirates” and take Depp off the table for the rest of the year.

Even if “Pirates” moves forward as planned and Burton commits to “Monsterpocalypse” and his typically expansive prep work, it’s highly likely then that “Dark Shadows” would be delayed. That’s a prospect WB would push back on. (”Charlie” and “Bride” together grossed $584 million worldwide for the studio).

Beyond scheduling issues, there is slight overlap contentwise between “Shadows” and the new project.
“Shadows,” which has Depp set to play the vampire Barnabas Collins, is spun from the spooky daytime series that included ghosts, zombies and werewolves.

“Monsterpocalypse,” which was created by Matt Wilson, who will co-produce the movie, involves game maps on which all manner of Japanese-inspired monsters, aliens, robots and insects do battle while laying waste to the cityscape, which changes for each game.

In addition to the game, which is published by Privateer, Desperado has put out a “Monsterpocalypse” comics series with storylines spun from the game’s characters. Fans of the property held a convention called MonCon 2010 a few weeks ago in Tulsa, Okla.

There’s no reason Burton and the studios couldn’t ultimately do both, though scheduling can get more complicated and interest wanes the longer it takes to get a project before cameras. And WB owes DreamWorks’ Steven Spielberg one for letting Clint Eastwood take the Peter Morgan-scripted “Hereafter” to WB last year. That supernatural thriller, which stars Matt Damon, opens in October.

No producer deals on “Monsterpocalypse” have been struck, though Richard Zanuck is likely to be involved since he has produced five of Burton’s past six films. The project would be released through DreamWorks’ distribution deal with Disney via the Touchstone label.

The UTA-repped August last wrote and directed the indie drama “The Nines.” He also has an adaptation of “Preacher” in development at Columbia. He has written “Go” and co-written “Titan A.E.” and the two “Charlie’s Angels” movies.

Released in March, Burton’s “Alice” has since become the fifth-highest grossing movie of all time worldwide, with $333.6 million coming from domestic theaters. Before that, the WME-repped filmmaker helmed “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” for DreamWorks/Paramount.

Together, August and Burton also have a feature-length, 3D stop-motion animated version of Burton’s 1984 short film “Frankenweenie” set up at Disney.