When Fox Atomic acquired the rights to Larry Doyle’s I Love You, Beth Cooper, the book had been on the shelves less than a month. Now Universal has picked up Go Mutants! from the author based on an outline alone. While it’s not uncommon for studios to grab up unfinished properties, if this trend continues, someone will soon be knocking on Doyle’s door with a check to buy an idea he doesn’t know he has yet.
The concept for Go Mutants! puts off a bit of a Sky High vibe- it’s about a high school filled with the children of 50s alien invasion monsters. Gort and the Creature from the Black Lagoon are listed as character cameos that would fit right in. Just like his I Love You, Beth Cooper deal, Doyle will be penning the screenplay (as he finishes the book).
It must be a nice feeling to sell the movie rights to a book that you haven’t finished (or even necessarily started). Though, I wonder which would be more intense- the confidence boost of such a resounding endorsement, or the added pressure to follow through? It must be difficult to not embark on an ego-fueled celebratory bender and forget to finish the fucking thing.
Variety mentions the story being a “teen adventure/comedy,” so we can expect a family-friendly affair. The sci-fi films of the era haven’t exactly aged with grit, so there would be no reason to expect anything else. I Love You, Beth Cooper, which seems to add some exaggerated fantasy to the typical “teen adventure”, open on July 10th and may give us a taste of what to expect from Go Mutants!