Warren Ellis is one of the most unique voices in comics. His Vertigo comic series ‘Transmetropolitan’ is still one of the greatest cyberpunk comics in recent decades. Recently, Ellis lent his mind-bending ideas to the TV mini-series ‘Ascension’ about two astrologers in different time periods unraveling a mystery that links them across the centuries. Now Ellis’ comic book series ‘Gravel’ is getting prepped for a live-action movie adaptation.
‘Gravel’ is published by Avatar Press and follows the adventures of Sergeant Major William Gravel. Gravel is a British soldier and “combat magician” who moonlights as a monster hunter in his spare time.
Deadline reports that Legendary Pictures has just tapped director Tim Miller to helm the big screen ‘Gravel’ adaptation. ‘Gravel’ will be Miller’s first directing gig. Up until this point, he’s been a FX guy doing work on such films as the ‘X-Men’ franchise, ‘Daredevil’, and Tim Burton’s ‘Planet of the Apes’. Miller was actually hired to direct Fox’s ‘X-Men Origins: Deadpool’ before that project fell by the wayside. Miller will be working from a script by Stephen Cornell while Ellis is executive producing the project.
I’ve never read ‘Gravel’ but Ellis has a knack for writing loveable anarchist a-hole heroes and it sounds like William Gravel doesn’t fall far from that mold. And with a movie that sounds like a cross between James Bond and Hellboy, I’ll definitely give it a shot.
What about you? Have you read the comic series? Even if you haven’t, are you up for a supernatural spy monster movie?
