After almost twenty years, 20th Century Studios is doing another adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the popular graphic novels created by author Alan Moore and artist Kevin O’Neill.
This isn’t the first adaption of the comics. In 2003, director Stephen Norrington brought us a Sean Connery-starring film of the same name (pictured above), which didn’t do so great critically but fared fairly well at the box office.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, this new adaptation—like the old one—will also be a feature and have Don Murphy on board to produce. Unlike the 2003 film, however, this version will premiere on Hulu rather than in theaters. It also has Justin Haythe, the writer behind Revolutionary Road and Red Sparrow, penning the script. And unlike the first movie, THR is saying that Haythe is “returning to the core comics for their take,” something the 2003 movie did not do.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a Victorian era comic that follows a group of well-known characters from the period as they fight to protect the British Empire. The first comics featured Mina Murray, Allan Quatermain, Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll, and the Invisible Man, for example, and they teamed up to take on Fu Manchu, Professor Moriarty, and those aliens from War of the Worlds.
The new adaptation is still in its early days—we don’t even know who the director is yet, much less the cast—so there’s also no news on if/when we’ll see the new film on Hulu.
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If they stick closer to the original material, I’m all in. One thing the film didn’t do justice to was the scope of the original work. The film made it seem like Quatermain etc. were oddities, whereas the graphic novel was like, “yeah, this is just the world we live in.” Plus, it didn’t do Mina Harker justice, forcing her to be “more interesting” by being a vampire lady.
Though I doubt they’d be able to touch Harry Potter being the antichrist with a 20,000 league pole.
You know, I was just remarking that I’d like to see some further adventures of Mina Harker/Murray that didn’t revolve around her secretly being in love with Dracula. Here’s hoping!
I’ll admit it: the 2003 movie is one of my guilty pleasures. Personal highlight for me is the bad guy ultra-Hyde monster towards the end. That being said, a series/serial format should be better able to do the source material justice.
I must not have very good taste in movies as I like watching LXG and Jonah Hex. Although I’ve never read either graphic novel so if I did maybe my opinion would change.
Now I think if your getting a younger Scot for quartermain it should be Ewan McGregor. I think Tom Ellis woul make a fabulous Dorian Grey.
I love the original though, It was so well cast that will be tough to match
If you remember the end of the ‘03 film the camera slowly panned up to the top of Quartemain’s grave. The music built up and we expected a surprise because they had made a point of saying that “Africa would never let him die”.
The 2003 film was tantalizing- finally steampunk in the mainstream – but as much as I will admit I watch it every chance I get, it feels like it was dumbed down and could have been much greater.
The few scenes added back in the director’s cut helped a bit – here’s hoping the new one goes for it full on.
I love Sean Connery, and I love Allan Quartermaine but I didn’t think they made a good combination, Quartermaine is supposed to be deceptively unimpressive looking. You have to know him for a while before you realize you’re traveling with a total badass.
I can only assume The Original Writer is already preparing to get mad if his name is mentioned.
Having read the first two volumes of THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN and THE BLACK BOX (Not to mention the two volumes of adventures with the second Captain Nemo), I can safely say that one actually prefers the film.
Mr Alan Moore is a writer with whose works I tend to have a somewhat complicated relationship – one can go from love to loathing in the span of a single volume – but this is still the only case where I can state that with Absolute Conviction.
Friend of mine enjoys pointing out that the movie versions of LOEG and V for Vendetta were, in the generic, pejorative sense, the comic-book versions of… the actual comic books.
The film was a terrible adaptation, but it was marginally fun in its own right and did get me to read the comics. I hope that this version leans into the sheer ecstatic weirdness of having everything that has ever appeared in fiction coexisting in the same narrative universe.
Never read the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen despite several recommendations. I’d already read the original.