Mathew Vaughn Acquires Film Rights to Mark Millar's SUPERIOR
Kick-Ass comic book writer Mark Miller has been teasing the last couple of weeks that some big news would be coming regarding some of his other work. Today it's been announced that director Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class) has bought the rights to Millar's Superior, and plans to adapt it into a feature film.
For those of you not familiar with the comic the story "follows the tale of a young boy living with multiple sclerosis who's granted a magic wish. He asks to be transformed into his favourite big screen action hero and uses his new super-powers to right the real world's wrongs. Whereas most superheroes fight criminals and stop bank robberies, this little boy uses his abilities to end the war in the Middle-East, feed the starving, rescue people from natural disasters and anything else the public wants. But have these incredible powers and worldwide adulation come at a price?"
This sounds like it could be a great action-packed movie. On top of that it is supporting a good cause. What are your thought on this?
Here's what Millar sent CBM:
Basically, my kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn has bought the movie rights to Superior from me and Leinil Yu and Leinil and I am also teaming up with the MS Society, who want to use the character as it's the first superhero with multiple sclerosis. 2 big stories in one. Vaughn and I have hinted at this for about 18 months, but this is the first we've ever confirmed he's bought the rights
Here's the full press release:
New York, October 4, 2011 -- Award-winning comic-book writer Mark Millar is empowering people with MS with his envelope pushing latest character Superior, the first superhero ever to be diagnosed with MS. And he is sharing him with the National MS Society to help raise awareness for MS and the work of the Society.
The hugely popular comic Superior, which is part of the Millarworld line, follows the tale of a young boy living with multiple sclerosis who's granted a magic wish. He asks to be transformed into his favourite big screen action hero and uses his new super-powers to right the real world's wrongs. Whereas most superheroes fight criminals and stop bank robberies, this little boy uses his abilities to end the war in the Middle-East, feed the starving, rescue people from natural disasters and anything else the public wants. But have these incredible powers and worldwide adulation come at a price? This dark, magical tale has been described by critics as Big meets Superman, a unique take on the superhero mythos with a magical element that appeals to Harry Potter fans as much as the traditional superhero audience. The movie rights to this book were snapped up by Kick-Ass and X-Men director Matthew Vaughn with a view to turning this into a Hollywood blockbuster.
Creator Mark Millar explains, “I wanted to write about a superhero with a disability and I chose MS because it's something that touched one of my school-friends growing up. I'm acutely aware of the unexpected way the disease can strike anyone and the enormous difficulties it can cause. Superhero stories are essentially wish-fulfilment fantasies and nothing seemed more powerful to me than a little boy with a magic wish not only wanting to WALK again, but to FLY. I'm delighted to work with such an incredible institution as the MS Society and feel privileged that they approached me to use this character in a positive way. We're used to seeing characters with MS as victims and I wanted to do something where the kid is not only a lead, but the most powerful person on the planet. I'm really delighted people have taken this to their hearts as much as they have".
Hollywood director Matthew Vaughn was also attracted by the humanity of the lead character and added, “I have always enjoyed working with Mark and his latest exciting project Superior is something that we are very much looking forward to making”. The two worked together most recently on Kick-Ass, which hit number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and they're both pleased to be working on another movie together.