Rob Liefeld Gives Update on The PROPHET Movie Project Starring Jake Gyllenhaal
Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld is currently working hard on the highly anticipated Deadpool 3, but he also has another project in the works that fans are excited about. The movie Prophet is based on one of his creator-owned characters, and it has been in development since 2020. The film will feature a story written by Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim, based on the comics by Liefeld.
It is set to star Jake Gyllenhaal as John Prophet, a character introduced in Liefeld's Youngblood. There have been few updates on the progress of the film since Gyllenhaal boarded as a star and producer, but Liefeld recently talked to ComicBook about it, and told fans what’s going on, saying:
"Here's the deal: Sam Hargrave's still on board. Jake Gyllenhaal still completely engaged. Jake has come on as a producer. The draft that is being completed right now is a polish of the second act. There was one sequence that was added, that everyone was like 'How did we never think of that?' Prophet is like...I wish I could share the screenplay with everybody. It's that old adage: if it's not on the page, it's not on the screen. Marc Guggenheim, his draft got us Sam Hargrave, got us Jake Gyllenhaal. That's how good the paper is....But we always knew, Jake was always making Road House right now. Sam was never going to be done with Extraction 2, even a year ago, there was an additional 13, 14 months. So we're extremely excited. In the business of movies, you just hope that your important contributors stay on board, and as of today, Jake is fully engaged, giving notes, taking meetings, shaping the movie, and Sam is in his free time away from Extraction 2, has continued to shape it. I am super excited, I don't want to jinx it, but it is a big deal."
He also teased that there will be more Extreme Studios titles announced for screen adaptations, pointing out that '90s properties like Venom and Deadpool have been huge hits, and he has confidence that some of his creator-owned characters can have similar success.
The screenplay focuses on some of the earliest Prophet adventures, beginning in the second issue of Youngblood, according to Liefeld. The big thing that Guggenheim brings to it, besides a screenplay structure, is a focus on character that was a little bit lost in the bombastic action of introducing Prophet in a team book.
He previously spoke to the outlet in 2021 about the adaptation, saying:
"There is a section in the middle of Youngblood #2 that get into the nitty gritty about why John Prophet does what he did to become the soldier he is, including on what he needed to help his family. What's great about Marc Guggenheim is that he moves you with his scripts and storytelling. You're going to be tearing up in the first 20 minutes. And so after you read, that you say to yourself, 'There needs to be a great actor here,' then we were fortunate enough to add Jake Gyllenhaal to the equation and man let me tell you, he's like the great actor of his generation."
It sounds like it’s going to be a pretty awesome movie! Prophet doesn’t have a release date yet, but it sounds like if we’re patient, it will eventually happen. Are you looking forward to seeing it come together?