By Borys Kit

Detective Alex Cross might be making a return to Hollywood, but it won’t be with the studio that brought him to the screen.

James Patterson’s popular character is at the center of “Cross,” a project being shopped around town. Based on one of Patterson’s books, the package features a screenplay by Kerry Williamson and Patterson, with Lloyd Levin attached to produce along with James Patterson Entertainment’s Steve Bowen.

The players have met with Summit, Sony, Lionsgate, Overture and others during the past couple of weeks. One potential buyer not on the list is Paramount, which made Cross’ first two outings, 1997’s “Kiss the Girls” and 2001’s “Along Came a Spider,” based on Patterson’s first two books. Both starred Morgan Freeman as Cross.

Patterson retained the rights to his books, of which there are now 16. They have sold millions of copies, generating more than $2 billion in worldwide sales.

When Patterson and his company approached Paramount with the opportunity to adapt “Cross” — the 12th book, which acts as an origin story and sees Cross as a much younger man early in his career trying to find his wife’s murderer — the parties couldn’t come to an agreement.

That prompted Patterson Entertainment to develop the screenplay on its own. The author, a film buff who sees four or five movies a week, decided to take a crack at writing the screenplay, in the process partnering with Levin (“Watchmen”) and deciding to self-finance the movie and make it independently.

The plan now is to shoot the movie in the first half of next year, depending on director and cast, then secure a distribution partner.

Thrillers are making a bit of a comeback in development circles. “Taken” made Liam Neeson an unlikely star while taking in $226 million worldwide, and most recently “Law Abiding Citizen” took in $72 million domestically.