Rex Mundi Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It's been a while since we heard anything about Johnny Depp's second foray into the world of comic book adaptation, otherwise known as Rex Mundi. Back in 2006, Depp purchased the rights to Arvid Nelson's Dark Horse series under his Infinitum Nihil banner, with the intention to star as Dr. Julien Sauniere.

To refresh your memory, Rex Mundi is set in an alternate history where Martin Luther was assassinated, the Reformation never took place, and the Catholic Church still reigns supreme. The comics take place in the 1930's, in a world where the Inquisition still runs rampant, Europe is ruled by monarchs, but magic manages to exist. Into this walks Dr. Sauniere, who finds himself investigating the disappearance of a medieval scroll, and a trail of horrific ritual murders. You can find out more on its official site, if you're interested. Depp was drawn to the project not because he's a comic reader, but because he's keenly interested in the Templar Knights, and "loves that kind of research" according to Barry Levine, who's co-producing.

According to MTV, Rex now has a script, penned by Jim Uhls, and is looking for a director. Depp has been right in the thick of all the decision making, says his co-producer Barry Levine. "The second draft is now coming in from Jim, and Warner Bros. is pretty excited about it. They came up with a couple of names for directors, so now we just need Johnny to look at the list. It all begins and ends with Johnny. He's got to be happy with the script, and he gave his notes, so we'll see what happens next."

Thanks to adaptations like Sin City, 300 and the upcoming Hellboy sequel, Dark Horse Comics should be doing well with its back catalog sales. More publications will be adding extra funds to the company's bank account, too, as Dark Horse has just made a deal with Hyde Park Entertainment to bring other titles to the big screen. None of these new films will be as big as those previously mentioned -- they were produced and distributed by the big studios Dimension, Warner Bros. and Universal, respectively. Instead the deal specifies they will be medium-budget indies. The first adaptation announced is The Blackburne Covenant, which will be based on Fabian Nicieza's and Stefano Raffaele's graphic novel about a horror-fantasy novelist who has coincidentally and accidentally written a book about real events. Of course, the conspirators involved with the events are not happy about the exposure, and so they set out to kill the novelist.

It has been a long time since I read any Dark Horse titles, so I'm not sure what other films could come out of this deal, but I'm guessing that my favorite, Boris the Bear, will not be one of them. Could a modest-budget cover the costs of a Concrete film? And could Dark Horse make a live-action version of one of the Manga titles it licenses, preferably Gunsmith Cats? As for other titles, it seems there are already Rex Mundi and ArchEnemies movies in the works. I wonder what else would work as an independent film. Looking at Dark Horses' current best sellers, I've picked out the following two titles that sound like they'd make for good, cheaply produced features: City of Others, which features a hitman caught in the middle of a war between vampires and zombies; and The Secret, which is described as a coming-of-age mystery. Of course, I don't know if these comics are actually any good. Are there any Dark Horse fans out there with any better ideas?

According to the LA Times, Johnny Depp (who, if you weren't aware, is in the news almost every freaking day) is looking to take on an Indiana Jones-type role in Rex Mundi (King of the World), based on a series of graphic novels by Arvid Nelson and Eric Johnson. Jim Uhls (Fight Club, Jumper) will pen the script, with Depp's Infinitum Nihil set to produce.

Apparently, the novels (which I haven't read) are set in an alternate 1933 "in which the Reformation never happened, the Inquisition is still in full swing, Europe remains dominated by the Catholic Church and the rest of the world consists of colonies." Should Depp take on the lead role, he will play a pathologist who investigates the bizarre death of the priest who helped raise him. If the pic turns out to be anything like Uhls description of a "noir-ish Raiders of the Lost Ark," then I'm definitely game. With two other films currently in pre-production (Sweeney Todd, The Rum Diary), there's no word on when Depp and Rex Mundi will kick into high gear.