Shane Black is Developing a CRAG BANYON P.I. Animated Comedy Series For Fox
Shane Black, who has worked on films such as Lethal Weapon, Predator, Monster Squad, Iron Man 3, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and The Nice Guys, is developing an animated comedy series for Fox titled Crag Banyon P.I., which is based on James Mullaney’s book series.
Crag Banyon P.I. follows the supernatural adventures of Banyon, “an alcoholic ex-cop and current private investigator, as he solves cases in an alternate noir, otherworldly reality.”
Black and Mullaney are teaming up to write and executive produce the project. David Silverman, who helmed The Simpsons Movie, will direct. It currently has a script commitment with Fox Entertainment as the studio. Black and Mullaney previously worked together on a feature film adaptation of Mullaney’s The Destroyer, which was in development with Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Fox sure does love their animation series slate and they continue to build on it. This Crag Banyon P.I. project sounds like it could be a lot of fun.
Here’s the story summary from the first book:
Dashiell Hammett meets Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town." Hello, you've reached Banyon Investigations...."Crag Banyon is just your run-of-the-mill P.I. He's got a secretary who loves to hate and hates to love him. His worst enemy in the world is on the local force and relishes the thought of seeing Banyon behind bars. And he's got a knack for attracting all the crazies to his small downtown office above the fish market. So when an elf shows up on a stolen reindeer and hints of foul play at the North Pole, Banyon takes the whole thing in stride, refuses to take the case, and heads off to his favorite saloon. But when the elf turns up dead the next morning, the cops make their least favorite private eye the fall guy.A hunted man, Banyon lams it to the Arctic Circle to clear his name. He quickly finds that Santa's workshop is a lot more dangerous than even a plucky P.I. with a ready quip and a five-alarm hangover can handle. Between fighting for his life and fending off the advances of a hot-to-trot Mrs. Claus, Banyon uncovers a conspiracy that goes far past December 25. If he can just ring in the New Year without a bullet in his brain, it'll all be just another day's work for Crag Banyon, P.I."....he's an SOB, but he's cheap. How may I direct your call?"
Does this sound like an animated project that you might enjoy watching? Also, I just want to point out that this first story is a Christmas-set story and you all know how much Black likes setting some of his stories during Christmas.