Matthew Vaughn Will Direct Mark Millar's 'American Jesus'
Filed under: Independent, Deals, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Religious
Mark Millar's American Jesus has been kicking around studios for a few years -- about as long as it's taken him to put out any more issues of the series. Sony Screen Gems nearly optioned it, but Millar pulled the plug on the deal in order to expand the story, with an eye on making it as enormous as Lord of the Rings. Once he actually thought about it a little more, he realized that 9 issues or so could make a single movie. Back in September, his Kick-Ass helmer Matthew Vaughn wanted to tackle it, but Millar still hadn't decided what to do with the story, and urged Vaughn to do Kick-Ass while he wrapped it up. He must have it plotted out now, as The Hollywood Reporter is saying that the duo is back to work on a film adaptation and looking at a summer start date. Meanwhile, Millar is still trying to get the comic's second volume done for a fall release, so don't hold your breath for American Jesus.
The story of American Jesus is right there in the title. A 12-year-old boy named Jodie Christianson discovers he is the Messiah. (The initials are a big clue.) From there, I'm honestly not sure what happens as I have only read the first issue (which you too can read at Newsarama), I just know there's some kind of cliff-hanger. Millar gave a few hints as to where Vol 2 was going: "I don't want to spoil the ending of Chosen for anybody who hasn't read that, but the second volume is about the adult Jesus in the modern day walking around in the world of Guantanamo Bay and conservative Republicans running Americans who don't have that much in common with a 2000-year-old Judean idea of what Christianity is. It's Jesus in the modern world, and they crucified him last time, so it's kind of updating that for the modern world."
Like Kick-Ass, Vaughn's American Jesus will be independent in order to allow them to fly free with religious controversy. Hopefully someone out there has read Chosen, so they can say whether or not the controversy can hold a candle to what they did in Preacher.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-26-2009 @ 10:28AM
a fucking said...
Preacher, I guess, was more concerned with straight-up desecration of everything holy, whereas 'Chosen' just has a fairly simple twist ending.
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3-26-2009 @ 10:57AM
Ian said...
After proving your virility by putting Jesus in a "Frankie Say Relax" T-shirt, your next test of masculinity is putting Muhammad in the same T-shirt and posting that on Islamic websites.
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3-26-2009 @ 8:52PM
Brian Hines said...
It's always funny to me when people say that Republicans today don't match up very well with the Christ's initial teachings. I can't speak for Republicans, but as a Christian conservative, it always amuse me, since we're linked with them, because we're the single most giving and caring people on the Earth. No one, not even the government, gives more to the children of the world, the homeless of the world, the hungry of the world, the oppressed of the world, than Christians, and those who are overwhelmingly conservative. I guess I missed the part of the New Testament where Jesus said "Render unto Caesar what is God's so that he can spread the wealth."
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3-27-2009 @ 1:51AM
J. Edgar Hoover said...
Sweet! Another fantastic comic for Hollywood to butcher into a PG-13 piece of crap. Anyone else notice the tremendous difference between the "Wanted" comic and the movie? Someone really must have thought long and hard to come up with an idea like the "Loom of Fate". What trash.
Considering "Chosen" was a 3 issue limited series, I can't even fathom what Hollywood will do to wreck this great story. Perhaps give Tom Cruise the leading role? That might actually work out, considering he is a scientologist.
I am interested in Millar doing a continuation of the series, however.
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6-17-2009 @ 6:56AM
norrie mAy-welby said...
With any luck the movie will be successful enough for a sequel, which is whT I'm really haingin out for, with so much of "Chosen" being a flashback with only tantalising hints of the present reality of the 33 year old narrator.
Of course none of us can say openly what it about, any more than we can say openly what Revelations and the evils of empires /corporate control are (dependent as we are on government and corporation to host this medium), but the kindom of Love comes ; )
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