Two days ago, we reported on an intense bidding war between all the major studios for Agent 13, a sci-fi project from writer T.S. Nowlin that has both director Rupert Wyatt and Charlize Theron attached. Well, it looks like the mysterious movie has found its home; Variety reports that Universal has won the bidding war and will be making a deal with WME to formally acquire the project. In addition to starring, Theron will also be producing Agent 13.
Considering it’s in early development, plot details are scarce — but if we go by what Variety is saying, it is, indeed, based on a comic book/novel series from writers Flint Dille and David Marconi that lasted from 1986-1988, one which mixes science fiction with the setting of the 1930’s, giving it a pulpy dime novel feel. (In addition to two graphic novels, Agent 13 also spawned three “regular” novels.) With the title character being male, it’s a good bet that Theron won’t be playing the lead — unless they’ve changed up the story — but will factor into the movie in a prominent role in some other way. Maybe a villain?
Theron‘s resurgence, which began last year with Young Adult, continues in 2012 with two very high profile tentpole releases in June: the revisionist fairy tale Snow White and The Huntsman, and Ridley Scott‘s much anticipated return to science fiction, Prometheus; the two movies will be released back-to-back, so I hope you are ready for some Theron overload. As for Nowlin: He’s currently writing Wild Guns (a Western featuring the iconic Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday) for Warner Brothers. Wyatt, meanwhile, is laying low since resurrecting the Planet of the Apes franchise last August with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, though Londongrad and a sequel to the aforementioned reboot lie somewhere in the future. With Agent 13, something of a wrench may have just been thrown into the plans of either.
We’ll keep you updated on Agent 13 as more information becomes available.
Have you read the Agent 13 source material? Will it make for a worthwhile movie?