Mark Hamill Cast in Mark Millar's Adaptation of THE SECRET SERVICE
Comic book writer Mark Millar is one hell of a busy guy, and a good amount of his properties are being developed for the big screen such as Nemesis, War Heroes, Kick Ass 2, Superior,and a few others. The Secret Service is another comic book currently being prepped for the big screen, and the script is currently being written by X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn. It looks like Mark Hamill (Star Wars, The Joker) will be taking on a pivotal role in the film.
Here are a series of tweets that Millar sent out recently revealing the news:
Just off the phone with @HamillHimself. What an absolutely lovely man! You can find out why we're talking over the coming weeks.
For anyone who wants a hint about the comic and movie Mark Hamill and I were planning last night just click: comicbookresources.com/?page=article&…
A full 8 page preview of this will appear in Kick-Ass 2 #7 (on sale at the end of the month): comicbookresources.com/?page=article&…
Hamill really needs to get an awesomely good role in a film. The guy hasn't been used enough over the years, and it would be great to see him take on a great role in a awesome movie. Hopefully The Secret Service will be it. NowHamill won't necessarily be the star of the film, but he will have a pivotal role. The two leads will be British.
Millar said that this is their version of S.H.I.E.L.D., and here's what else he had to say about it in a previous interview, giving us some insight on how the story came about and what the story will entail:
This all started when Matthew Vaughn and I were talking about 'Casino Royale' a couple of years back in the pub between breaks on 'Kick-Ass,'" the writer told CBR. "We loved the movie, but wondered why they didn't do all the stuff where he learned how to be James Bond. We've both got a couple of friends in special forces, both here and in the US, and even the real life training, without any artistic license, is really incredible set-piece stuff. If you ramp it up a little, it makes for some incredible scenes in a comic and in a movie. 'The Secret Service' is about a number of things, but one of the central thrusts is about a young, wayward hoodie kid from North London learning how to be James Bond. There's a great story about Terence Young, the director of 'Dr. No' and the guy who really established the tone and look of the movie Bond we all understand. He liked Connery, but felt he was a bit crumpled and rough around the edges and so took him under his wing and turned him into the gentleman he needed for the role. He took him to his tailor, his barber, casinos and all the best restaurants. He taught him how to order the best wine and how to engage in the kind of well-read chatter James Bond would be able to handle as an ex (well, expelled) Etonian. I guess it was like 'My Fair Lady' in a way, but mixing this together with counter-terrorism training really seemed fun to us and become the spine of this project.
This education of a 21st Century super-spy forms the structure of the story. I can't give too much away because Matthew Vaughn and I co-conceived the thing with Dave, and Vaughn is literally right now writing the screenplay of the movie, so we're on a non-disclosure agreement for a little while yet. But basically, if I had to say anything else about it, I would say that this is our version of S.H.I.E.L.D. or U.N.C.L.E. or any of those brilliant super-spy concepts, but seen through that skewed perspective we brought to superheroes in 'Kick-Ass.' It feels very, very fresh. I don't think there's ever been a comic like this and all three of us are very excited about it. I've wanted to work with Dave since I was sixteen, so it had to be something big.
Sounds like this could be a pretty awesome comic and film! I'm looking forward to seeing how it comes together and to see what role Hamill will play in the film! What are your thoughts?