Australia's MOVIEHOLE reported some exclusive casting news regarding the new Artisan Entertainment production of the Marvel Comic property "Man-Thing". On their site they've reported that Jack Thomspon (Cliegg Lars - Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones) will star, to be directed by Brett Leonard (who also helmed "Virtuosity" with Denzel Washington and "Hideaway" with Alicia Silverstone and Jeff Goldblum)
Relatively unknown Aussie actors Matthew Le Nevez, Rachel Taylor and Alex O'Lachlan will round out the cast. Lensing has commenced at Serenity Cove Studios, Sydney's newest film studio complex and is expected to continue through to March 2004.
(FYI: Artisan Entertainment filmed their 1989, Dolph Lundgren version of The Punisher in Australia.)
For the uninitiated, Man-Thing began his life circa May 1971 in "Savage Tales No. 1" edited by the great Stan Lee. He started out as biochemist Theodore "Ted" Sallis, a fugitive on the lam from A.I.M. Sallis died in the swamps surrounding Citrusville, Florida, only to be reborn through a combination of indigenious life forms and foreign chemicals he brought into the enviroment himself.
One of Man-Thing's more distinctive qualities that seperates him apart from other Marvel "super-heroes" is his ability to feel other peoples emotions, particularly those in close proximity. And when he touches someone who fears him, the touched burn — sometimes to death.
Whether Man-Thing burns up the silver screen or the straight-to-video market remains to be determined.