Mark Millar is a guy with a lot of good ideas but often lacks the ability to execute them in a way that is a) not entirely morally bankrupt or b) as clever as the original idea warrants. That’s why I appreciate the potential for a reteaming of Millar with Matthew Vaughn to make another movie. Vaughn managed to elevate Millar’s material in Kick-Ass, and turned it from a shock-fest of a comic into an exciting movie. Here’s to hoping he can do it again, this time working from Millar’s comic Superior.
Press release: “[Superior] follows the tale of a young boy living with multiple sclerosis who’s granted a magic wish. He asks to be transformed into his favourite big screen action hero and uses his new super-powers to right the real world’s wrongs. Whereas most superheroes fight criminals and stop bank robberies, this little boy uses his abilities to end the war in the Middle-East, feed the starving, rescue people from natural disasters and anything else the public wants. But have these incredible powers and worldwide adulation come at a price?”
The press release goes on to describe the comic as Big meets Superman, a clever enough idea that is loaded with potential; I like the idea of a kid dealing with his illness (and bringing attention to MS in general) – how it defines and effects him, add to that a child thrust into adulthood with (heightened) responsibilities and expectations, and top it off with all the expectations that come with being a hero and a public figure. It’s a lot for one kid to deal with.
I’m curious how people are going to respond to a super hero ending the war in the Middle-East, part of the reason comic villains were created was because people during WWII found it offensive to soldiers to have comic book heroes defeating real life villains so easily while they were overseas risking their lives. There’s a chance I’m making more of that than needs to be made. Or perhaps it’s just something we’d all like to see; why not make it an element of a comic book movie? But in either case I just hope it’s done well.
Matthew Vaughn is a great talent who has built up quite a body of work in the few years he has been directing, I have been anxiously awaiting whatever project he would pick up next, this seems like as good as any. Hopefully the wait won’t be too long. We’ll let you know as more information becomes available.
Has anyone read Superior? If so are you excited for the potential of this project?
(via HitFix, where you can find the entire press release)