Mark Millar’s Comic EMPRESS Is Getting a Feature Film Adaptation
Comic writer Mark Millar has got another comic book that is going to get the big screen treatment. According to THR, he has teamed up with producers Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum to bring his latest comic, Empress, to the big screen.
The story centers on “the wife of a galactic dictator (a la Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon) who makes the decision to leave her evil husband and take her three kids with her. With the aid of a bodyguard, she escapes with her brood — Aine, her 15-year-old daughter who wants to be with her father; Adam, her gentle soul of a 10-year-old son who she knows would not survive the trials ahead to be an elite ruler; and Puck, her 18-month-old — to her home world. But the dictator husband, with armies at his disposal, isn’t going to let her go without a fight.”
The first issue of the comic was a big hit and sold out when it debuted last month. The second issue hits comic book stores today. The script for the film will be written by F. Scott Frazier, who wrote Vin Diesel's latest project xXx: The Return of Xander Cage.
Millar has a few other projects in development. Most recently Waypoint Entertainment acquired the rights to Millar’s Supercrooks and American Jesus. There’s also a sequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service currently in development with Matthew Vaughn at the helm. Other film projects we’ve heard about in the past include War Heroes, Huck, Chrononauts, and Starlight, which are all in various stages of development.
Kirschenbaum had this to say in a statement:
"Nobody creates universes that translate into big movie ideas better than Millar. With Empress, he's raised the bar yet again. Part Star Wars, part Guardians of the Galaxy and part something wholly fresh that only the amazing brain of Millar could spawn."
Millar added
“In terms of pure concept, this is the most ambitious story I’ve ever come up with, so it needed the most experienced producers I’ve ever been in business with. Joe Roth is a genuine Hollywood legend and Jeff Kirschenbaum was part of the team that broke every record in the book at Universal last year. Even being on the same poster as these two guys is exciting to me.”
I haven’t read the comic myself, but it sounds like it could be a pretty spectacular film. Millar also tends to tell great, fun, engaging, and jacked up stories, so I’m very curious to see how this film turns out.