The Syfy Channel has generally been left out of the comic book mania gripping Hollywood, although they’ve had various stuff in development over the years. But now they’re going all in with FOUR projects in development including Frank Miller and Lynn Varley’s Ronin, an often assayed but never conquered peak.
This time out Warners Horizon is developing it as a mini-series. The original was a complicated story about a reincarnated ronin who comes to a futuristic city to fight a demon. Darren Aronofsky once took a crack at making a Ronin movie, and a later movie version has been languishing for a long time. Frank Miller has been out of favor in Tinsel Town for a while but I guess 300: Rise of Empire did okay so he’s “in” again.
Also in development:
Clone, based on the Skybound comic by David Schulner and Juan Jose Ryp. Robert Kirkman is aboard as executive producer. The story involves a retired soldier who has to fight a clone of himself. Schulner, who was involved in the recent Dracula and Ironside tv shows, will write and produce himself.
Letter 44, based on the Charles Soule/Alberto Albuquerque book about a new US president dealing with aliens and such. Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3) will write and direct.
Pax Romana by Jonathan Hickman, about a Vatican-led plan to travel back in time and improve things via warfare. Federman & Stephen Scaia (Jericho, Warehouse 13, Human Target) are writing the script.
Note to self: time to reread Ronin.
Heidi MacDonald is the founder and editor in chief of The Beat. In the past, she worked for Disney, DC Comics, Fox and Publishers Weekly. She can be heard regularly on the More To Come Podcast. She likes coffee, cats and noble struggle.
Wonder if any kind of weird legal action will happen between Syfy and whatever studio it was that bought that reddit kid’s idea about marines going back in time to fight the Roman army.
Pax Romana predates that reddit thing by several years, but when have facts ever stopped lawyers out for blood and money?
Yeah, the Spirit really brought Frank Miller back down to Earth. However, his older stuff could still work as a movie/tv thing. I wouldn’t mind seeing Martha Washington or Hardboiled.