Mark Millar is, arguably, the most successful comic book creator ever when it comes to adaptations of his work. The creator of Kick-Ass, Wanted, Kingsmen: The Secret Service, and writer of the stories that led to Captain America: Civil War, Logan, and Josh Trank's Fantastic Four is always on the cusp of having one of his comics developed for the big screen. So Netflix decided to get on the groundfloor where they can pick at Millar's brain more easily, by snapping up the rights to his entire Millarworld line.
Millarworld properties will now have an exclusive home at Netflix, where they plan to adapt his creator-owned material in a variety of different ways. Basically, expect movies, adult-oriented TV series, and shows geared towards the kiddies. Yes, Millar does that stuff, too. Here's a little bit from the press release:
Together, Netflix and Millar will bring Millarworld’s portfolio of critically and fan-acclaimed character franchises to life through films, series and kids’ shows available exclusively to Netflix members globally. Millarworld will also continue to create and publish new stories and character franchises under the Netflix label.
“As creator and re-inventor of some of the most memorable stories and characters in recent history, ranging from Marvel’s The Avengers to Millarworld’s Kick-Ass, Kingsman, Wanted and Reborn franchises, Mark is as close as you can get to a modern day Stan Lee,” said Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos. “We can’t wait to harness the creative power of Millarworld to Netflix and start a new era in global storytelling.”
“This is only the third time in history a major comic book company has been purchased at this level,” said Millar. “I’m so in love with what Netflix is doing and excited by their plans. Netflix is the future and Millarworld couldn’t have a better home.”
What you won't find are new Kingsmen or Kick-Ass projects because they are housed at different studios. Not that Netflix needs them. They've got their eyes firmly set on a number of Millar projects according to the below tweet...
Chrononauts, Superior, and Nemesis have had feature projects in the works for years, but it looks like they are fair game now, along with possibly a new version of Wanted, which has had a sequel in development Hell just as long. Perhaps they can finally convince Angelina Jolie to return? If Colin Firth can come back for 'The Golden Circle'...Actually, Wanted may be better off as a series, too. Make a clean break from the movie.
I'm excited for this, but mostly I'm pumped to see what Netflix does with American Jesus, which I think can be turned into a Preacher-esque TV series pretty easily.
