Netflix, whose shares took a tumble on Monday after it failed to reach subscriber growth forecasts, announced on Tuesday [July 17] the first wave of films and series with Kick-Ass and The Kingsman creator Mark Millar.
Films include Empress to be written by Lindsey Beer (Kingkiller Chronicle), Huck to be written by Ted Melfi (Hidden Figures, St. Vincent), and Sharkey The Bounty Hunter to be written by Michael Bacall (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, 21 Jump Street).
The series encompass Jupiter’s Legacy from Steven S. DeKnight (Marvel’s Daredevil, Spartacus, Buffy The Vampire Slayer), and a multilingual version of American Jesus.
Netflix acquired Millar’s company Millarworld last year and has been developing content with Millar and his wife Lucy including The Magic Order, which has been published as Netflix’s first comic book.
Empress follows Queen Emporia as she flees with her children from the worst emperor in the galaxy. Beer is adapting the comic book and Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum serve as producers.
Huck centres on a gifted do-gooder whose friends in his quiet seaside town keep his powers secret until a newcomer alerts the media. Melfi is adapting the comic book and Neal H. Moritz and Toby Jaffe produce.
Sharkey The Bounty Hunter takes place in in a new sci-fi universe where the eponymous blue-collar worker chases criminals in his converted ice cream truck. The property will be adapted and published as a Millarworld/Netflix comic in 2019.
In Jupiter’s Legacy the world’s first generation of superheroes who received their powers in the 1930’s are now revered as elder statespeople while their children struggle to live up to their legacy.
DeKnight recently signed an overall deal with Netflix and will serve as showrunner and executive producer, with Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Dan McDermott also serving as executive producers for the series. DeKnight will direct the first episode.
Spanish-English series American Jesus follows a 12-year-old boy who discovers he has returned as Jesus Christ. Everardo Gout (Marvel’s Luke Cage, Sacred Lies, Mars, Banshee, Aqui En La Tierra) and Leopoldo Gout (Molly’s Game, Instinct) will serve as co-showrunners and executive producers on the series. Gout will also direct.
“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,” said Millar. “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. These are writers and directors I’ve privately been sending fan mail to over the last eighteen months so to be working with them all is just enormously exciting. This really is the greatest creative environment I’ve ever worked in. I can’t wait to switch on my computer every morning.”
Millarworld’s comic book franchises include Wanted, Kingsman, Reborn, Empress, Kick-Ass, and Jupiter’s Legacy.
During his time at Marvel, Millar’s credits included The Ultimates, and and his Superman book, Red Son.
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