Adam McKay to Direct Superhero Film IRREDEEMABLE

After stepping into the superhero movie world co-writing Ant-Man with Paul Rudd, Anchorman and The Big Short director Adam McKay was talking with Marvel Studios about possibly directing one of their movies (many assumed it was Inhumans, which has since been removed from the release calendar altogether). But now Deadline reports that McKay is venturing into an entirely new superhero universe and directing a film called Irredeemable. Here's how they describe the plot:

In the Mark Waid-created comic book that debuted in 2009 and lasted 36 issues, the central figure is the Plutonian, the world’s greatest superhero until he began heartlessly slaughtering the population of Earth, at least those who defy him. It falls to a superhero group known as the Paradigm to stop his rampage. They were former colleagues of the Plutonian, they’ve all got problems of their own, and none of them is nearly as powerful as the mass-murdering maniac holding the world hostage. In Clarice-Hannibal Lecter fashion, the Paradigm in desperation turns to a famous supervillain for help; it might be the only way to stop the carnage.

That sounds very much in line with the evolution of the superhero genre at this point in its history. After an era of classic origin stories and straight-forward adventures, the success of the irreverent Deadpool, the existence of movies like Suicide Squad, and the notion of heroes fighting heroes (BvS, Civil War) has shown that audiences are ready for the next step, and this could be a great encapsulation of that. I haven't read these comics, but Waid is a terrific writer who's done outstanding work on books like The Flash, so I'm intrigued at what this will be like. Even more intriguing: Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and Dead Snow writer/director Tommy Wirkola is writing the screenplay. Count me in.

Read a ranking of all of McKay's directing efforts right here.