20th Century Fox has acquired the rights to the Mark Millar/Steve McNiven graphic novel Nemesis and Tony Scott is attached to direct, reports Deadline.
Even though Kick Ass, the last Millar creation to be adapted into a film, didn’t get the box office rewards it deserved, it was well-enough received to ensure that his future works would be hot property. His third creation to receive an adaptation (Wanted being the first), Nemesis, is based on the premise ‘What if Batman were The Joker?’. Not literally of course, and Nemesis is an original, creator-owned property published under the Icon arm of Marvel, but what if the guy in the costume with all the awesome abilities was in fact the bad guy? In the comic, Nemesis is really Matt Anderson, a billionaire genius who is out to avenge the death of his parents. Only his parents were villains and their deaths were caused by a police officer, Blake Morrow.
It sounds like an interesting twist on a familiar story, and handled well it could be something different amidst the wave of superhero films which will be launched over the next few years, despite the comic book not being particularly loved by fans and critics. Indeed, it only takes a quick look around a few forums to find Millar‘s name being cursed repeatedly. However, this does not mean that the idea itself isn’t good. Kick Ass the movie was an amazing breath of fresh air in a genre in danger of becoming stagnant and was a far better effort than it’s comic book counterpart, which was only slightly above average.
Tony Scott, whose last release was the mediocre The Taking of Pelham 123, could do with something different to break him out of this current Denzel Washington-collaborating, quick-cut, over-stylised rut he has gotten himself into and Nemesis may be the property to do so. Scott Free will also produce.
Are you a fan of Mark Millar? Have you read Nemesis?