Last August, Netflix purchased Millarworld, the comic book publishing firm founded by Mark Millar (Kingsman, Kick Ass) with the goal to develop TV shows and films based on the company’s plethora of characters. Almost a year later, and details regarding those adaptations have revealed themselves.
The streaming giant has unveiled two new shows and three new movies for their upcoming Millarworld slate. Millar himself said in a recent statement:
“My wife Lucy and I are eleven months into our jobs at Netflix and it’s everything we hoped for to the power of ten. To see a movie based on your work every couple of years is incredibly exciting, but to see them all happening at once like this and with talent this high-end is just off the scale”.
The first TV project is titled Jupiter’s Legacy, and follows the first generation of superheroes who received their powers in the 1930s. In the present day they are seen as the revered older guard, but their superpowered children are struggling to live up to the bar set by their parents. Steven S. DeKnight (Daredevil) will serve as showrunner for the series.
The other show Netflix are developing is American Jesus, a multilingual series that revolves around a 12 year old boy who discovers he’s returned as Jesus Christ. He has to learn how to lead the world into a conflict 1000 years in the making. Everardo Gout (Luke Cage) and Leopoldo Gout (Molly’s Game) will serve as co-showrunners for the series.
As for the films, Lindsey Beer is penning the adaptation to the comic book Empress, in which Queen Emporia is reluctantly married to the worst dictator in the galaxy, King Morax. After escaping his palace with her children in tow, Emporia and her family must hide from Morax at all costs, even if it takes teleporting from planet to planet to avoid him.
Also in development is Huck, which revolves around a man with special gifts who lives in a quiet seaside town and sets out to do one good deed per day. His neighbours return the favour by keeping his powers a secret, until a newcomer alerts the media and sends Huck on an adventure that will change his life forever. Ted Melfi (Hidden Figures) is directing the adaptation.
Finally, there is Sharkey The Bounty Hunter, which is set in a “brilliant new sci-fi universe” where Sharkey is a blue-collar bounty hunter chasing criminals across the galaxy in his converted, rocket-powered ice cream truck.
Helped by his 10 year old partner, he’s out looking for the biggest bounty of his career. It will first be published as a Millarworld/Netflix comic book next year, before being adapted into a film, with the screenplay currently being penned by Michael Bacall (21 Jump Street).
It’s an exciting time if you’re a fan of Millarworld, although these adaptations should be just as fulfilling for newcomers to the work who have yet to sample the comic book source material. As new streaming competitors ramp up, Netflix is keeping the content flowing in a bid to stay on top. Considering the increasing popularity of comic books, last year’s acquisition of Millarworld is looking better by the day.
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