Category Archives: Comic Book Adaptations

Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Direct and Star in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman

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Um, YES.

The overwhelmingly dapper man, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has reportedly signed on with Warner Bros. to not only to star in a big screen adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, but direct as well. Levitt’s involvement in the project was rumored last month but yesterday he confirmed the news via his Twitter account.

He posted,

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m incredibly honored to be working with David Goyer, Warner Bros, and @neilhimself on SANDMAN. #Prelude”

Sandman, which launched DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint, ran for 75 issues beginning in 1989. Gaiman’s worlds-within-worlds weaved an episodic anthology, focusing on the allegorical character of Dream and his brothers and sisters, known as the Endless (Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, Destruction and Destiny).

The use of the “Prelude” hashtag is of some interest as it suggests that Goyer’s script might focus on the series’ first collection, “Preludes and Nocturnes,” which detail the earthly imprisonment of Dream, his escape and his reclamation of various objects of power.

David Goyer will provide the screenplay.

 

20th Century Fox Eyes Mark Millar’s Starlight

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“Starlight” the newest title announced by Image Comics is heading to the big screen. The comic was created by Mark Millar and Goran Parlov. Currently, it is rumored that Simon Kinberg is attached to write the screenplay. There is  no other talented attached to the project at the moment.

The first issue of “Starlight” will hit stands in March with the following official description:

So much for retirement! Meet Duke McQueen, a man who has long since settled down and left his days of saving the Universe and operating as the space hero everyone depended on—at least that’s what he thought. His wife long passed and his kids off embarking on their own adventures, Duke lives a quiet, solitary life until he receives an unexpected call from a distant world, calling him to action one last time.

Kinberg previously worked on scripts for other popular comic adaptations such as X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: First Class and his upcoming credits include X-Men: Days of Future Past and The Fantastic Four.

Millar is also familiar with the world of comic book adaptations. Several of his original comic book properties are in various stages of stop-and-start development as well, including The Secret Service, Nemesis, and Superior.

The Children of Disney’s Animated Characters Assemble for Descendants

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The Disney Channel is always looking for news ways to monetize their brand with as little effort as possible as evident by their upcoming new live-action telefilm, The Descendants. The project takes the descendants of popular animated and storybook characters for a look at the “next generation.”

The official description of the project is as follows:

In a present day idyllic kingdom, the benevolent teenaged son of the King and Queen (Beast and Belle from Disney’s iconic Beauty and the Beast) is poised to take the throne. His first proclamation: offer a chance at redemption to the trouble-making offspring of Cruella De Vil, Maleficent, the Evil Queen and Jafar who have been imprisoned on a forbidden island with all the other villains, sidekicks, evil step-mothers and step-sisters. These villainous descendants (Carlos, Mal, Evvie and Jay, respectively) are allowed into the kingdom to attend prep school alongside the offspring of iconic Disney heroes including Fairy Godmother, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Mulan. However, the evil teens face a dilemma. Should they follow in their nefarious parents’ footsteps and help all the villains regain power or embrace their innate goodness and save the kingdom?

Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer, Disney Channels Worldwide, admits the easy project saying,

“We mined Disney’s treasure trove of stories and developed a new, comedic approach to the fabled characters everyone knows and loves. The result is a modern and unexpected re-interpretation of classic heritage characters utilizing contemporary, relatable settings and themes.”

The Descendants is written by “The Starter Wife” creators Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott with High School Musical’s Mark Hofeling tackling the production design and Karen Saun (“Project Runway”) providing the wardrobe design. Casting is now underway for  the project with production slated to begin next spring for a 2015 premiere on Disney Channel.

Peyton Reed Plans The Fifth Beatle Adaptation

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Peyton Reed, most known for directing Down With Love and Being It On, is planning to helm the big screen adaptation of Vivek J. Tiwary’s recent graphic novel” The Fifth Beatle.” The graphic novel was written by Tiwary and features artwork by Andrew C. Robinson. Tiwary will produce alongside Bruce Cohen with production targeted to begin next year.

“The Fifth Beatle” is a graphic novel and feature film recounting the untold true story of Brian Epstein, the brilliant visionary who discovered the Beatles in a cellar in Liverpool, nurtured, protected, and guided them to international stardom, and died extremely successful and painfully lonely at the age of 32. It’s a human story about the struggle to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds—Brian was homosexual when it was a felony to be so, Jewish at a time of anti-Semitism, and from Liverpool when it was just a dingy port town. It’s a story about staggering ambition yielding staggering success, through a desire to change the world by messages of love and peace. A story about being an outsider and trying desperately to belong. A story about speed, triumph, and tragedy. A story whose themes resonate deeply across generations, sexes, and sexual preferences. A story full of dreams and music… The greatest music of all time.

The Fifth Beatle charts Brian Epstein’s discovery of The Beatles and his work to sharpen them into the stars they became—crafting their infectious image and presentation from truly rough and tough beginnings, securing a record deal when no one wanted to touch them, successfully bringing them to a world stage with a scale and scope no music impresario had ever attempted, and eventually proving through “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” that pop music could be an inspirational art form. Brian Epstein’s boast—”The Beatles will be bigger than Elvis!”— seemed absurd in 1961, but proved not just prophetic but humble by 1967.

Yet behind this “behind the music” story, The Fifth Beatle also follows Brian’s personal struggles and his desire to be “one of the boys”—a true “Fifth Beatle” if you will—in the face of crushing personal obstacles and loneliness from never having fallen in Love. His struggles with rapid, overwhelming success in the face of his simple human desire to belong. “The Fifth Beatle” will leave us passionately inspired but equally forced to question the last song on the last Beatles album when it suggests: “In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

You can check out a trailer for the graphic novel version of the story in the player below:

Edgar Wright Thinks “Ant-Man” Will Surprise People

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Edgar Wright’s upcoming addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ant-Man, is fast approaching its 2015 release date but fans actually know very little about the film. Recently, Wright, spoke with Entertainment Tonight about the film and why he thinks the film will surprise fans.

Wright said,

“I want to make him into a badass. No, I always liked that comic and I always thought it would be an interesting thing to see in live-action. That’s why I [showed] that Comic-Con test that we did for Marvel, to show this fight scene like a proof of content, like this is what the action is going to look like. I think a lot of people who maybe don’t know the character sort of see that test and go, “Oh, right, I get it. It’s like an action film,” so that’s the idea. I think people will be surprised by what kind of movie it is, and so in that respect it’s something that I know is going to stand out because it’s got a very different story and is a very different movie.”

He also confirmed that the tone of the film would remain in line with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“Well, I think the Marvel movies are funny, you know? I think generally the Iron Man films and The Avengers is funny. They’re not ever in the comedy section, but they are funny and entertaining, so I think it’ll be something in a similar vein to that.”

Walt Disney Pictures has scheduled a July 31, 2015 release for the film, which was written by Wright and Joe Cornish.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Producing Adaptation of Sleeper for Warner Bros.

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According to a report from Variety, BFF’s Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have officially signed on to produce the film adaptation of popular comic series, “Sleeper.” The comic comes from Vertigo and will be produced for DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Also reported is that Shawn Ryan (“The Shield”) and David Wiener (“The Killing”) will pen the screenplay for the adaptation.

“Sleeper” was created by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. It ran from 2003 through 2005 and centers on an operative whose fusion with an alien artifact makes him impervious to pain and allows him to pass it on to others through skin contact. He is placed undercover in a villainous organization by an intelligence agency and falls for a member of the group, named Miss Misery. The series consisted of two twelve-issue limited series and the events of the first “season” served as a catalyst for the Coup D’Etat line-wide crossover.

The comic series was previously planned for a film adaptation via Warner Bros. with director Sam Raimi producing and Tom Cruise starring but the project fell through. Brubaker has said that this is at least the fifth time there have been serious attempts to film the story.

Currently, there is no director signed on for the film.

The Walking Dead Enlists Andrew J. West for Secret Season 4 Role

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, “The Walking Dead” is about to get one more survivor in the gang. Andrew J. West, most known for his role on “Greek,” has joined the cast in a role that has yet to be released. Details about his character are being kept secret but it is said that his character is not directly from the source material. Instead, he is a “remix” of someone from the comic series.

The article also notes that, similarly to other added characters, West will be credited as a “guest star” for the second half of season 4 with an option to become a series regular in season 5. Other new cast members for the fourth season of “The Walking Dead” include Larry Gilliard Jr.,  Josh McDermitt, Michael Cudlitz, Alanna Masterson and  Christian Serratos.

It was also not revealed when fans can expect his entrance into the series.

The fourth season of the series premiered on October 13, 2013,  and is set to consist of 16 episodes. The fourth season has already introduced several notable comic characters including Abraham Ford, Eugene Porter, Rosita Espinosa, and Bob Stookey as well as a modified version of the Chalmers family from The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor tie-in novel including prominent comic/novel character Lilly.

“The Walking Dead” airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.

The series is based on the series of comic books of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard; it was developed for television by Frank Darabont, and is executive produced by Kirkman, Scott M. Gimple, Greg Nicotero, and Gale Anne Hurd. Gimple assumed the role of showrunner after Glen Mazzara’s departure at the conclusion of the previous season.

“Preacher” Adaptation To Become AMC Series?

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It has been an unfortunately long journey for the television adaptation of the comic book series, “Preacher.” And the saga continues. The comic, which was created by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, is reportedly heading to AMC and may already have a pilot order.

“Preacher” tells the story of a down-and-out Texas preacher possessed by Genesis, a supernatural entity conceived by the unnatural coupling of an angel and a demon. Given immense powers, the preacher, teamed with an old girlfriend and a hard-drinking Irish vampire, set out on a journey across America to find God — who apparently had abandoned his duties in heaven — and hold him accountable for his negligence.

Development for a “Preacher” adaptation has been rocky and unstable. Originally it was going to be made into a HBO series but after four years in development it was dropped. DJ Caruso was previously attached to direct when the project was in development to become a film, but that was also apparently dropped. Whether Caruso is still attached is unknown.

AMC has not confirmed the project though given how popular their other comic book based series are doing on the network, it is not impossible to assume they have a hand in the highly anticipated project.

No names have been confirmed for the project but the site, Badass Digest, reports that the ones attached are “big and impressive.” However, Seth Rogan took to Twitter after the story broke to say this:

“Arseface. John Wayne, The Saint of Killers.”

These are three main characters from “Preacher.” So how is Rogen involved with this attempt to bring the Vertigo comic to television. His role in the project remains unconfirmed.

Warner Bros. Registers Possible Titles for Batman vs. Superman Movie

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Warner Bros. is finally looking to title the upcoming “Batman vs. Superman” film from Zach Snyder. For the last few months the collective internet has stuck with calling the feature merely “Batman vs. Superman” since no official title had been confirmed. Now, according to Fusible, an official title is on the way.

Fusible told ComingSoon.net,

There’s been a lot of debate over the official title of the upcoming Batman vs. Superman film scheduled to be released in 2015. This week, Warner Bros. secretly registered a host of possible titles through the internet brand protection company MarkMonitor. Now, it’s likely the debate is going to get more opinions. According to the latest domain registrations, possible titles include “Man of Steel Battle the Knight”, “Man of Steel Beyond Darkness”, “Man of Steel Black of Knight”, “Man of Steel Darkness Falls”, “Man of Steel Knight Falls”, “Man of Steel Shadow of the Night”, “Man of Steel The Blackest Hour”, and “Man of Steel The Darkness Within”.

The Man of Steel sequel is scheduled to hit theaters on July 17, 2015. It stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Diane Lane and Laurence Fishburne.

Maybe Warner Bros. will take the easy way out and just keep the name we have been using for months.

IDW and Michael Chiklis Developing TV Series Based on Comic Book Pantheon

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According to a report from Deadline, IDW Entertainment is planning on adapting a comic book from Michael Chiklis for television. The show will be based on the comic series called “Pantheon” which was originally created by Chiklis, Anny Simon Beck and Marc Andreyko and published in 2010.

The series pits Zeus’s fellow gods against the Titans in an epic battle of good versus evil, and father versus son. Breaking the golden rule of Greek mythology – to never reveal themselves – the gods Zeus, Aphrodite, Pandora, Cronus, Prometheus and Jason return to their timeless battles, as Armageddon nears.

“Pantheon” will be developed internally at IDW with Circle of Confusion co-producing and overseeing packaging and creative. The two companies will then shop the project around to networks, but for now the search is on for a showrunner to co-create the series along with Chiklis.

The television adaptation of “Pantheon” joins fellow greek-myth-based-comic book “Headache” on the small screen. Fox is developing Lisa Joy’s graphic novel as a drama titled “Athena.”

There is currently no word on who is being eyed for the lead roles in the adaptation or an anticipated premiere date. Those decisions will like be made after a network decides to pick up the project and green light a pilot episode.