Mark Hamill Official Set to Direct the Film Adaptation of his Comic Book THE BLACK PEARL
Last month we shared with you some news that Mark Hamill was prepping up to direct the film adaptation of his comic book miniseries The Black Pearl. There was no solid confirmation of this at the time, just a lot of good speculation, but it seemed like it was all going to work out.
Now today, it has been officially announced that Hamill will direct The Black Pearl through a new production and finance outfit named Berkeley Square Films. They told us a official announcemnt would come at the Cannes Film Festival, and it has.
The Black Pearl is a five-issue comic book limited series published by Dark Horse Comics. It was written by Eric Johnson and Mark Hamill, illustrated by H. M. Baker, and inked by Bruce Patterson and Dan Schaeffer. The story focuses on Luther Drake, a troubled man who becomes a costumed vigilante hero by accident and media pressure. Hamill described the series as a "crime thriller five-part graphic novel", its less about superheroes and more about sensationalism, tabloid journalism, and "all the things that thrillers come from."
The idea for the story was originally suppose to be a movie when it was created 14 years ago, but it ended up being a comic book first. Better late than never! The live-action film will have a $7 million budget which is more than enough to bring this story to life properly. Duncan Jones only had $5 million when he made moon, and that movie turned out awesome! The comic book was adapted by Hamill, The Fighter's Paul Tamasy and Johnson.
Hamill said the story is a "dark, edgy thriller" that the company hopes will receive an R rating. He goes on to say,
We started getting interest from some pretty big producers a while ago. But then it started to take on a life of its own where it became this huge megabudget comicbook movie. This was the exact opposite of what we wanted to do.
If a big studio would have taken the project on Hamill would not have been able to direct it, and this is a project he's really been wanting to do. I excited for Hamill, and I can't wait to see what it is he'll bring to the table for this movie. Wouldn't it be awesome if he ended up being an amazing director, and making an incredible film? That's what I hope to see.