Sylvain White Talks about Adapting Frank Miller’s RONIN For Film

Now that director Sylvain White is finished helming his next new film The Losers, he can get back to work on developing the film adaptation of Frank Miller’s comic book Ronin. This is something I’ve been waiting to see brought to the big screen for a long time, I just hope White is the guy to do it properly.

The DC comic classic was originally published in 1983, and follows an ancient samurai who wakes up in a dystopic, tech-crazy New York City with the chance to finally avenge the death of his master at the hands of a centuries-old demon. If you haven’t read it yet it’s about time you give it a go.

White had to stop working on the film when he went off to direct The Losers, but now he's back and the production is moving onto the next stage. Here is what he recently told MTV in an interview:

It's something I have a very strong passion for — it's very complex material. I need it to be adapted right. It needs to have the right combination of intellectual ideas and the great action and sci-fi set pieces that it offers — particularly the brilliant production design that Frank Miller has in the comic, which was already groundbreaking at the time and still is today.

There’s still no word yet on if Ronin will be his next project, but I like what he’s saying. But talk is one thing; it’s about putting those thoughts and words into action. To be honest I’m a little worried, this is the same guy who directed I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, Stomp The Yard, and the jury’s still out on The Losers. All I know is the trailers for the film fall kinda flat, especially if you compare it to The A-Team trailer.

You never know how long these things take, but we're working on a draft right now. But it's looking good. But you don't want it to be good, you want it to be brilliant. Fortunately, a lot of the studios are looking to make the sort of big-budget, 3-D movies nowadays much more than a decade ago. Now, so many theaters are equipped with that, it seems to be a very good way to bring people into the theaters. That's something that I've been talking about for a while for a few projects, particularly for 'Ronin,' because when you look at the kind of action and the kind of characters he has in the comic, it totally demands a 3-D treatment. It's literally, truly a cult classic. I just need it to be right.

I really hope White is able to pull this off. He says he wants it to be perfect and just right, but that doesn’t mean he's the director that can actually pull it off. Personally, I think filmmakers need to stop thinking in terms of 3D. They need to be focused on the story not how the audience is going to view it. I’m just afraid if they develop the film with 3D always on the brain, it’s going to turn out being one of those gimmicky 3D flicks. The story of Ronin does not demand to be seen in 3D, it demands to be true to the story and source material.

What do you think about White's thoughts on adapting Ronin?