A Team of Jack Kirby Experts Have Been Hired To Work on DC's NEW GODS Movie
Jack Kirby is one of my favorite comic book artists. I love his style! He created so much wild and far-out work. Marvel has been boasting about how Eternals is going to bring Kirby’s work to life on the big screen in a way that has never been done before, but DC is looking to tap into the mindset of Kirby as well with their upcoming New Gods movie.
The film is being directed by Ava DuVernay and she is going to make sure to get the visual style and story elements as spot on with Kirby’s work as they can possibly get. In fact, she asked comic writer and the film’s screenwriter Tom King to bring in an entire team of Jack Kirby experts to help consult on the film.
During an interview with ScreenRant, King talked about what it like working with DuVernay on the film, and then talks about that team of Kirby experts:
“It’s a fucking joy! She’s amazing! I was doing another thing where I was doing a big Hollywood [project], working with big famous Hollywood people, and it wasn’t such a joy. Like there was egos and shit involved. She doesn’t have an ego, she just gets in there.”
King then went on to say:
“She invited me out, and she asked what team I wanted to bring. Because she wanted to assemble people who knew Kirby, and she was like, ‘Can you put together a team?’ So we put together this team. And she was smart, and a good storyteller, and it was one of the best storytelling experiences I’ve ever had. And next week I go off to work with her.”
New Gods is a sci-fi based mythology that revolves around ancient deities known as the New Gods. "Similar to the gods of Earth lore, the New Gods were larger than life, possessing fantastic powers, which they used in a never-ending struggle between good and evil."
The New Gods focuses on twin alien planets, the idyllic New Genesis and the hellish Apokolips, ruled by equally powerful but morally opposite leaders. New Genesis is ruled by the benevolent Highfather, and Apokolips by the despot Darkseid. The comics have depicted Darkseid’s efforts to destabilize the fragile peace between the worlds as part of his scheme to eliminate free will from the universe.
As a fan of Jack Kirby and his work, I really hope that the creative team that has been brought together to develop this movie is going to deliver a film that Kirby would be proud of.
I’m also curious about comparing Marvel’s Eternals film with this one after they are both made. I want to see who adapts Kirby better.