Anyone who has ever read a comic book has at one point or another visualized what they are reading in movie form. Comic books are being adapted into films and TV series’ at a steady pace these days, but is there one particulate comic, character or arc you’ve longed to see translated from page to screen that still hasn’t? We tasked the writers from the Sound On Sight Comics Section to answer that very question. Here’s what they came up with…
by Alex McKinnon
In the wide, wide world of superheroes, nobody’s been the butt of more jokes than Arthur Curry, better known as Aquaman. With his bright get-up and absurd powers, the folks over at DC comics have tried again and again to re-brand him as a first grade badass, but the uninitiated of the world would likely need a lot of convincing before keeping their sneers in check for a film adaptation. Fortunately, many of the cornerstones of Aquaman lore – fantasy, royal intrigue, and sea faring adventure – are in high demand of late.
The fantasy elements Aquaman has traded in for years seem to be in higher demand than ever. Game of Thrones has set the world on fire with its grand battles and complex politics between countless would-be kings, and the best parts of Thor all revolved around the tension between two brothers who both wanted to sit on the throne. Maybe an Aquaman movie could hop on the bandwagon by having Arthur’s brother Orm (aka Ocean Master) initially start the story as the ruler of Atlantis. Arthur could be living an ordinary life in America, ignorant to his birthright and powers, and maybe a mad attack on the earthbound civilizations of the world (something topical, like the melting of polar ice caps) to seize authority as the long lost One True King. People love a good story about an ordinary guy turning out to be a child of destiny. Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Matrix… the list is endless.
Putting a story together could very well be the easy part. An Aquaman movie would undoubtedly be painfully complicated, simply due to the realities of shooting on open water. It’s notoriously difficult and brutally expensive, and it’s easy for productions to get totally out of hand (see Waterworld). Yet the sea is full of magic and mystery, and some of the biggest hits of all time, like Titanic and the Pirates of the Caribbean series, have exploited it for fantastic effect. Could you imagine what a deep water nut like James Cameron could do with the city of Atlantis? Entourage was genuinely onto something when they famously cast him to direct their fictional adaptation. Realistically, Cameron wouldn’t be likely to make room in his schedule for poor Arthur Curry. But Gore Verbinski, of POTC and this summer’s Lone Ranger, could perhaps be convinced. Maybe he could bring along star Armie Hammer with him for the title role. He looks like he can swim.
Demon Knights
by Logan Dalton
With the success of Game of Thrones, darker fantasy genres have never been more popular. There also have been a few recent attempts at Arthurian legends, like Starz’s Camelot and BBC’s Merlin, but the first show was canceled after a season and the second skewed toward a younger audience. The DC comic Demon Knights has enough violence and morally ambiguous antagonists to satisfy fans of Thrones, but has more humor and a plot that is easier to follow. This film could be done as a PG-13 summer tent-pole movie as a fantasy alternative to all the sci-fi, superhero, action, and Will Smith movies that come out.
The basic premise of the first arc of Demon Knights (“Seven against the Dark”) is that seven different adventurers from different places and with different agendas grudgingly come together to defend the town of Little Spring from the Horde of the Questing Queen and Mordru, an evil, immortal wizard. (There are lots of immortal characters in this comic.) The basic plot may seem like a ripoff of Magnificent Seven or even Avengers, but the interesting characters make the story more compelling. As well as interesting characters, there is more medieval warfare than Braveheart complete with magicians, dragons, and dinosaurs.
The team gets the name Demon Knights because they are unofficially led by “The Demon, Etrigan, who was trapped by Merlin in the body of his apprentice Jason Blood. This dual personality adds layers to his character and provides a conundrum for another team member Madame Xanadu, who doesn’t know if she loves Blood or Etrigan. I would cast Nicholas Hoult as Jason Blood/Etrigan because he played a dual personality character well (Beast in X-Men: First Class). He could voice the wholly CGI Etrigan. Madame Xanadu is an immortal sorceress, who hid Excalibur for Merlin after the fall of Camelot and has been traveling with Jason Blood. Beautiful and powerful, but a bit scattered, I would cast Helena Bonham-Carter as Xanadu. Vandal Savage is a hilarious and brutal warlord that enjoys dragon meat and switching sides. He is immortal too and sacked Rome. I would cast Ray Stevenson as Vandal Savage because he has experience in medieval fantasy films, such as King Arthur and Thor as well as HBO’s Rome.
For the other Demon Knights, I would cast Gina Carano as the exiled Amazon Exoristos and Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones) as the red haired Horsewoman, a wandering warriors who can talk to horses. I would cast Naveen Andrews (Lost) as al-Jabr, an Arabian traveler, who can use “advanced” science to build weapons and Eve Myles (Torchwood) as Sir Ystin, the Shining Knight, a transgendered adventurer looking for the Holy Grail. Using an ensemble of character actors would keep costs low so that money could be spent on the grand sets and CGI creatures needed for this film. Paul Cornell, who wrote Demon Knights 0-15, could write the screenplay because he has experience writing screenplays for BBC shows like Robin Hood, Primeval, and Doctor Who. My dream director would be David Yates because he has experience handling both fantasy films and large ensemble casts in the later Harry Potter films.
Cable
by Tony Nunes
I can’t really explain it, but Cable has been my favorite Marvel character since first reading him in the post X-Force Cable series of the mid-1990’s. There’s something about the character that resonated more with me than the superhero angst of Spiderman, the over-bulk of the Hulk or even the ego of Iron Man or Thor. Cable carries his own angst, but its layered below his hardened exterior. Like most Marvel characters, Cable has a lot of layers; freedom fighter, time traveler, peacekeeper, etc. What makes Cable different however is that there is never any doubting his intentions. This is a hero who never puts his own needs first. Ever.
Cable’s muscular build and anti-heroic nature made for the perfect 80’s/90’s action hero to superhero crossover. This is precisely why a Cable movie could be great. The sci-fi elements of the worlds and story-lines in the Cable series as well as the expansive Marvel crossover potential are ripe for the picking. Part Terminator, part Rambo, Cable would work great as a side-franchise like Blade, or equally well as a minor or lead character in a future X-Men film.
Cable was originally slated to have a part in Bryan Singer’s upcoming X:Men Days of Future Past film, however was scrapped all together. That’s unfortunate, because this is precisely where the film introduction of Cable would have most seamlessly worked.
Cable was born as Nathan Summers, son of Scott Summers (Cyclops) and the Jean Grey clone Madelyne Pryor. Cable has a compelling back-story with tons of drama and intrigue, including almost soap-opera-like elements involving the real Jean Grey and his mother who later becomes the Goblin Queen. This shouldn’t be the focus for a Cable film. The film should take place in the future, 2000 years from when he was born during the time in which he was sent as a child. It should pick up with a new story slightly derivative of the Messiah Complex storyline with Cable crossing back and forwards in time to save Mutant-kind. Like the Messiah Complex, the film should also cast the similarly great Bishop to peruse Cable across time. Bishop himself is complex, sometimes working for good, sometimes bad, but usually with his own interests ahead of others. Cable works with opposite intentions. This angle would make for an incredibly gritty sci-fi action film. Sure, there are Terminator elements, but tie in the other X-Men and writers could easily develop a more original film.
Another great angle would be a film teaming Cable with Deadpool. The Cable and Deadpool comic series started in 2004 was a cult classic of hilarity and wit. The juxtaposition of these two characters could make for the first buddy-cop superhero angle in film. Deadpool’s advantageous sleaziness is far from Cable’s peace-loving disposition.
So who plays Cable? Cable is an advocate for peace, a true hero who is at once badass and kind. Born with telekinetic and telepathic abilities, Cable developed a techno-organic infection that led to him to possess great strength. He also has a techno-organic eye which allows him to see beyond what any other human can. In the comics he’s most often depicted as a large and bulky man with grey hair. I would cast Karl Urban. Sure, he’d have to bulk up a bit, but his chiseled face and stoic acting style would fit the Cable character like a glove. Bishop should be played by Terry Crews. To direct…Alfonso Cuaron, simply because I’d love to see a Cuaron superhero film and he does sci-fi so damn well.
by Thomas O’Connor
With “The Avengers” finally doing a big-scale superhero team-up the way it ought to be done, team-based movies seem to be getting more attention, with DC and Warner Bros fast-tracking production on the “Justice League” movie and Marvel already casting “Guardians of the Galaxy”
But why not take things in a different direction? Why not make a flick about a band of scrappy misfits who aren’t trying to save the world, but instead make some scratch and get away laughing? Hell yeah, let’s film The Rogues.
The Rogues, especially individually, are pretty easy to brush off as lame. Well, they are lame. But they’re a loveable kind of lame, and have a code of ethics and conduct that set them apart from other villains, and aren’t so much interested in global domination as cold hard cash, which makes for a nice change of pace.
Just think how fun this could be. It would be Ocean’s 11 but with garish costumes and superpowers. The good Ocean’s 11, the first one. Or maybe an early Guy Ritchie movie. Four down and out super villains, considered jokes by their peers, struggling to find that one big score. I’d watch that.
But who would be behind the masks? For The Rogues’ calculating leader, Captain Cold, let’s go with Michael Fassbender (setting our sights high here). You want someone who can come across as cold and merciless, but ultimately honorable. For the team’s second Captain, Captain Boomerang, you’ll want someone actually from Australia, and Hugh Jackman and Russel Crowe get enough work already. So for Boomerang, let’s go with the underrated aussie thespian David Wenham.
For the foul mouthed Scot Mirror Master, we’d need someone who can talk in a brogue so thick you can barely understand what the hell he’s saying, as well as emit that necessary eau de scumbag. With those in mind, Scottish mainstay Robert Carlyle fit’s the bill.
When casting The Trickster, a role previously filled by Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, let’s follow the recent comics lead and make our version of Trickster the resident young guy. But rather than cast some Hollywood pretty boy, let’s go with someone untested. Someone with experience playing the mouthy, smart-alec comedy relief in a gang of super powered misfits. And not many actors fit that bill better than Robert Sheehan.
Scud the Disposable Assassin
by Sean Tonelli
When I was younger I converted my entire Lego collection into a customized Scud the Disposable Assassin play-set. I bought a Sega Saturn so I could play the god-awful Scud videogame, which I also bought for computer for some reason. My Aunt would purchase the Scud comics for me from Edmonton and mail it three provinces over since my local shop didn’t carry it. I loved—NAY, love Scud the Disposable Assassin.
During the hey-day of Scud-fever a movie was actually in development with Oliver Stone set to direct. Obviously those plans never came to fruition, but I always wondered how a movie version would have played out. Rob Schrab, the creator of the book even teased fans every issue with a casting list in the beginning. Each character was assigned a dream actor; someone who Rob felt would be perfect for the role. Scud would be played by John Malkovich and Sussudio, Scud’s love interest, would be Gwyneth Paltrow. It was a miss-match made in heaven.
So if I were a big shot producer, how would I go about adapting Scud? Well aside from keeping Rob’s casting choices, I’d also hire him to direct it. Rob has come a long way from his early days on the indie comic scene, and has established himself as a director working on such shows as The Sarah Silverman Program and Community. But you can’t shoot a movie without a script, and who better than to write the movie with Rob than his original co-writer and friend, the one and only Dan Harmon. With the dream team in place, I would let them have free reign to create what they want. With Rob and Dan’s irreverent wit and almost encyclopaedic knowledge of pop culture, the results would be a chaotic amalgam of violence, comedy and pop culture, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Deadpool
by Ric Rebelo
To me this is a no brainer……….Deadpool! Even though the character was technically in X-Men Origins Wolverine one can argue that the depiction was in no way accurate. Deadpool has an enormous fan base and a new video game on the way so the foundation is set. The only problem is that Ryan Reynolds who has already ruined an epic character (Green Lantern) and Played the weak version of Deadpool in the before mentioned film is in talks to play the character again.
Currently the main title is written by the Comedian and actor Brian Poshen and is one of the most entertaining of the Marvel Now! titles.
What comic, character or arc would you like to see make its way from page to screen? Share your picks in the comments below…