In advance of New York Comi Con, Fox 21 has picked up the rights to the BOOM! Studios graphic novel series “Polarity” for a television adaptation, The Wrap has exclusively learned.
The “Polarity” pilot is to be co-written by Max Winkler and writing partner Matt Spicer, who were recently tapped by The Walt Disney Company to write the reboot of “The Rocketeer.” Winkler will direct the pilot.
Ross Richie and Stephen Christy will executive produce for BOOM! with Jason Carden executive producing for Winkler’s Walcott Entertainment and Josh Levy (“Backstrom”) co-executive producing for BOOM!.
The graphic novel is written and created by Max Bemis, the frontman for rock band Say Anything, and illustrated by Jorge Coelho. It follows Timothy Woods, a bi-polar artist living in Brooklyn who discovers that when he stops taking his meds he is able to manifest super-powers. It is based on Bemis’ own experiences with bi-polar disorder.
Max Winkler just directed the indie film “Flower” for Rough House Pictures, and has directed episodes of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Casual,” “New Girl,” and “Fresh Off the Boat.” He has a first-look deal at 20th Television.
BOOM! controls the largest library of comic book titles outside of Marvel and DC. Their first feature film under their 20th Century Fox first-look deal, the supernatural thriller “The Empty Man,” is currently shooting in South Africa.
BOOM! also has in development at the studio “Irredeemable” with Adam McKay attached to direct, “Lumberjanes”with Emily Carmichael attached to direct, and “Malignant Man,” based on the comic book by James Wan with Brad Peyton attached to direct.
Winkler is repped by CAA and Management. BOOM! is repped by UTA.
Comic-Con 2016: Biggest Winners and Losers (Photos)
We've arrived at everybody's favorite part of the San Diego Comic-Con festivities -- where we argue about the best and worst of it! Strap in and prepare to fight, as TheWrap's on-site contingent run down the winners and losers of Comic-Con 2016.
Winner: Marvel
Fans who waited in line in the hot San Diego sun for over a day for Marvel Studios' presentation in Hall H Saturday were richly rewarded. Marvel's showcase was incredible from start to finish, with robust looks at "Spider-Man: Homecoming," "Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2" and Doctor Strange," as well as a comedy short from "Thor: Ragnarok" director Taika Waititi about what Thor was doing during "Captain America: Civil War." And almost none of it was posted online, so word of mouth on it was through the roof, as everybody who wasn't in Hall H wanted to know what exactly went down.
Loser: Warner Bros.
This is more a matter of positioning than what the studio showed off in its 140-minute presentation. Almost all of what we saw looked great, in fact -- especially "Wonder Woman" and "Justice League." But the Warner Bros. presentation came just a few hours before Marvel's, and it just couldn''t compare. Marvel had more substance to show fans, and Warner Bros. released everything it showed online as soon as we saw it in Hall H, dramatically lessening the need to talk about it. With more temporal separation from Marvel, Warner Bros. probably would have been counted as a winner on this list.
Winner: "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets"
Luc Besson's wild space opera took Hall H by storm on Thursday in one of the most surprising developments of the week. "Valerian" looks amazing, and could be the spiritual successor to "The Fifth Element" we've been waiting decades for Besson to churn out.
Loser: Game of Thrones
Considering that Season 6 just ended, there was nothing to share about Season 7. We did get a blooper reel and a teaser showing the start of production, but nothing mind-blowing.
In addition, most of the main cast was absent. No doubt they are all working on other projects before filming for the new season commences. But given the monumental storyline shifts for characters like Jon Snow, Cersei, and Daenerys, it would have been a real treat for Kit Harington, Lena Headey and Emilia Clarke to be there.
Winner: Netflix
The footage from the upcoming Marvel series "Luke Cage" got a big reaction from the crowd, especially the trailer featuring ODB's "Shimmy Shimmy Ya." No wonder showrunner Cheo Coker referred to the show as the "Wu-Tangification of the Marvel universe."
When you put something like this in Hall H on the first day of the Con, you're gonna get a lot of side-eye. And, unfortunately, that's about the extent of the attention you're gonna get. By Saturday, it felt like everybody had forgotten the "Snowden" panel had even happened.
Winner: The Walking Dead
After all the animosity stemming from the Season 6 finale cliffhanger, one had to wonder how the AMC series' panel would go. But fans seemed to have moved past the heartache. The first trailer for Season 7 went over huge, particularly the first footage of King Ezekiel and his pet tiger, Shiva.
The cast also reminded us why we enjoy watching them -- they have great chemistry. From Andrew Lincoln's semi-successful glitter bombing of Norman Reedus, to Ross Marquand and Michael Cudlitz carrying on a conversation as Mick and Rocky, respectively, everyone was clearly having fun.
Bryan Fuller is having a banner year. Not only is he the showrunner on the highly anticipated Starz series "American Gods," but also on the newly-named CBS All Access series "Star Trek: Discovery." Both shows had panels at this year's Comic-Con, and both got the internet buzzing when they released first-look footage.
Loser: Pirates
Back in April, 20th Century Fox announced they would not return to Hall H to showcase footage from their upcoming releases due to concerns over piracy. Perhaps in reaction to this, security was very aggressive about cracking down on bootleggers in Hall H and elsewhere, and a lot of the big footage reveals this year went up on YouTube and social media almost immediately after their panels concluded.
That means no more shaky cell phone footage of a screen 100 feet away for some fans. Instead, those at home get to see a ton of great stuff from some huge projects in their hi-def glory.
Winner: Eddie Redmayne
The real highlight of the Warner Bros. panel came when the "Fantastic Beasts" star began running around the massive Hall H giving out magic wands. It was a precious moment and a much needed injection of life coming near the end of the incredibly long session.
Loser: Sunday
Marvel provided the climax of Comic-Con Saturday night. There was still a whole day left afterward, but nobody could be bothered to care. Sorry, "Prison Break" and "24."
Winner: "Star Wars"
There were no "Star Wars" panels or presentations but, even so, it dominated Comic-Con as it seemed like every third person was wearing a "Star Wars" t-shirt. Merch covered the show floor, including a huge ziggurat dedicated to selling you "Star Wars" stuff in the Hasbro area. Maybe nobody was talking about it but the "Star Wars" shadow was cast long over the Con nonetheless.
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Another Comic-Con is in the books, and we look back on how the week went for the big names
We've arrived at everybody's favorite part of the San Diego Comic-Con festivities -- where we argue about the best and worst of it! Strap in and prepare to fight, as TheWrap's on-site contingent run down the winners and losers of Comic-Con 2016.
