Taika Waititi may have multiple projects in development, but that hasn’t stopped him putting another on his plate. The prolific filmmaker will direct an adaptation of Alejando Jodorowsky‘s graphic novel The Incal, co-writing the screenplay with his regular collaborator Jemaine Clement and Peter Warren.
The Incal came about after Jodorowsky’s unsuccessful attempt to adapt Frank Herbert‘s Dune for the big screen.
The Incal expands on the concepts first created while working on that project. Published in installments between 1980 and 1988, it revolves around an intergalactic private eye named John Difool, who together with a ragtag group gets caught up in a grand space opera and has to save the universe.
The project will mark the film debut of publisher Humanoids, whose executives said that the firm has rejected several Hollywood offers over the years. A first draft of the script is expected to be completed by the end of the year, after which they will shop the project around town. No studio or streamer is currently attached, although Waititi’s involvement should have plenty interested.
Waititi got Jodorowsky’s blessing before attaching himself to the film. He said in a statement: “The films and graphic novels of Alejandro Jodorowsky have influenced me and so many others for so long. I was stunned to be given the opportunity to bring his iconic characters to life and I am grateful to Alejandro, Fabrice and everyone at Humanoids for trusting me to do so.”
Waititi has previously directed What We Do In The Shadows, Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit.
He’s currently finishing post-production on his true story sports drama Next Goal Wins, while also working on his Ragnarok follow-up, Thor: Love And Thunder. He will also star in upcoming HBO Max series Our Flag Means Death, and also has a Star Wars film in the works.
There’s also a Flash Gordon project and an untitled series with Clement in development. So yeah, he’s got his fingers in plenty of pies. How we’ll get the time to helm The Incal is anyone’s guess, but after Denis Villeneuve‘s Dune arrived this year, it will be interesting to see another big sci-fi epic inspired by the same source material.
#Peace.Love.TheIncal
