Fresh off her directorial debut One Night In Miami, Regina King has signed on for her next project behind the camera. She will direct an adaptation of comic book Bitter Root for Legendary and producer Ryan Coogler.
Set during the Harlem Renaissance of 1924, the comic book is a racially charged monster movie that revolves around a fractured family of once-great monster hunters who face an unimaginable evil that descends upon New York City.
For generations, the Sangeryes have hunted and cured those infected by a supernatural force that feeds off the prejudice of the era, transforming humans into monsters. Though many Sangeryes have died in the line of duty, the surviving family members have the unenviable choice to save or kill the creatures in hopes of thwarting an invasion.
The comic’s creators, David F. Walker, Sanford Green and Chuck Brown, are all on board to executive produce the project, while Bryan Edward Hill, who is currently writing the new Power Rangers movie, will pen the script.
This sounds pretty fascinating. Usually when one hears “comic book movie” their mind goes straight to superheroes, but the genre is filled with inventive original stories like Bitter Root. This should be a timely film that hopefully will also generate a strong audience thanks to its comic book roots.
It would have probably been easy for King to follow up her three-time Oscar nominated debut by taking on the latest Marvel or Disney script that’s probably been sent to her, so it’s refreshing that she’s decided to go with an original project with strong themes and the opportunity for a truly unique aesthetic.
Bitter Root should be a highly anticipated project. It’s unclear right now what the budget is intended to be, but the film should attract some big name actors to it. For those that want to do a comic book movie but don’t want to be sucked into the contractual obligations of something like Marvel, this could be a perfect opportunity.
#Peace.Love.BitterRoot
