In case you’ve been living under a rock this past decade (or just someone who doesn’t have kids) and haven’t seen the mountain of toys, video games, and (of course) the television show for ‘Ben 10’, let me take a moment to fill you in.
‘Ben 10’ is a Cartoon Network show that began airing in 2005. It follows the story of Ben Tennyson, a 10-year-old kid, who finds a wristwatch-like alien artifact called the Omnitrix that allows him to transform into one of ten different aliens. Since it’s original series, ‘Ben 10’ has been continued in the series ‘Ben 10: Alien Force’ and ‘Ben 10: Ultimate Alien’, both of which added new alien forms for Ben to transform into (and more toys for Cartoon Network to sell to the show’s fans).
Uber-producer Joel Silver (‘The Matrix’) announced a few weeks ago to Variety that he was planning on adapting ‘Ben 10’ as a big screen action blockbuster with an eye on turning the movie into a new franchise. At the time of that announcement, no writer was named.
Late yesterday, AintitCool announced that writer Albert Torres (‘Henry Poole Is Here’) has been hired to pen a script for Silver’s ‘Ben 10’. Torres most recently worked on the live-action ‘Akira’ script. Of course, that fact alone will make some fans cringe since the ‘Akira’ film was almost universally panned. Of course, that might have more to do with Hollywood’s Americanization of the cast and story than with whatever script Torres turned in.
When asked what direction he wanted to take ‘Ben 10’, Silver said:
I think we have to try something fresh and go at it in a way that stays true to the original material. I have a 5-year-old and a 9-year-old, so it’s somewhere between them.
So it sounds like ‘Ben 10’ will be aimed squarely at the kid audience where it should be and not at older cartoon hipsters like Silver’s failed adaptation of ‘Speed Racer’.
This isn’t the first time ‘Ben 10’ has been given the live-action treatment. Cartoon Network developed two made-for-TV films (‘Ben 10: Race Against Time’ and ‘Ben 10: Alien Swarm’), both directed by Alex Winter (Bill of ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’). I liked the original ‘Ben 10’ series and enjoyed both of the live action movies for what they were so I’m excited to this franchise make the jump to the big screen.
What about you? Do you like ‘Ben 10’? How do you feel about Silver and Torres being on board for the project? And most importantly of all… which alien forms do you want to see in the film? Comment below and let us know!
