Sony Pictures has found its next comic-book adaptation, and this one couldn't be much further removed from the studio's Spider-Man universe.
The studio has acquired the live-action film rights to D'Orc, the bestselling Image Comics fantasy series written and drawn by Brett Bean, Deadline reported in an October 19 exclusive. Bean is attached to adapt the comic himself.
Sony has not announced a director, cast or release window, and the film's plot remains under wraps.
Meet D'Orc
The series follows an orphaned half-dwarf, half-orc whom an ancient prophecy has named as the one destined to end the world. Naturally, practically everyone wants him dead.
The story plays out in Sunderaine, where the forces of Light and Dark have fought a seemingly endless war. Elves, dragons, wizards and goblins all have their own reasons for fearing or hunting the title character.
D'Orc himself is hardly equipped for the job. His traveling companions are a magical shield with an aggressive personality and an unfortunate chicken whose lack of a head has done remarkably little to interfere with its continued participation in the adventure.
Image pitches the book as "the perfect mix of Bone, The Dark Crystal, Discworld, and Monty Python." The publisher also leans on some famous fans. Invincible creator Robert Kirkman offered, "You had me at magic talking eyeball shield."
Dungeon Crawler Carl author Matt Dinniman called it "the best new comic I've read in forever," and I Hate Fairyland creator Skottie Young described it as "pure fun and mayhem."
From Sellout to Sony
D'Orc #1 launched in February and sold out at the distributor level before it reached stores. The first issue is now in its eighth printing, later issues have gone back to press as well, and Image says issue #2 topped 70,000 orders.
Issue #9 was scheduled to arrive this week. Image has already collected the first five issues in D'Orc Vol. 1: The Book of Certain Doom.
Collectors moved fast once the Sony news broke. Bleeding Cool reported on October 20 that raw first printings of #1 were selling for around $300 on eBay, while a CGC 9.8 blank-cover first print carrying an original Bean sketch set a record at $1,320.
Third printings, for the record, were going raw for under four bucks. Those are individual eBay sales, not a price guide for every copy sitting in a longbox.
The Creator Behind the Chicken
Bean brings a long résumé in comics and design to the screenplay. He has illustrated I Hate Fairyland and Marvel's Rocket and Groot, worked on the Dungeon Crawler Carl comic, and designed for Jim Henson's Creature Shop.
He has also written the Zoo Patrol Squad and Muk 'n' Honey graphic novel series. On D'Orc, he handles script and art, with colors by Jean-Francois Beaulieu and letters by Nate Piekos.
His attachment puts the screenplay in the hands of the man who drew the headless chicken in the first place. The deal covers a live-action film, so somebody will eventually have to figure out how to get that chicken onto a film set.
For now, D'Orc sits in early development at Sony, with no production start or release date announced. The comic keeps rolling at Image in the meantime.
Have you been reading D'Orc, and do you think its mix of bizarre fantasy creatures and outrageous comedy will translate to live action?