The Hollywood Reporter brings word that John Wick director Chad Stahelski is set to make the leap to comic book movies with an adaptation of the Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips series Kill or Be Killed for Columbia Pictures. He will re-team with his producer from John Wick, Basil Iwanyk, with Dan Casey set to pen the script.
A deconstruction of vigilante comics and stories, Kill or Be Killed tells the twisted story of a young man who attempts suicide only to be rescued from death by a demon who demands he continue killing for him in order to stay alive. As he is forced to kill bad people, he struggles to keep his secret as it slowly ruins his life and the lives of his friends and loved ones.
The comic book series was nominated for four Eisner Awards, including Best Continuing Series, Best Writer, Best Cover Artist, and Best Coloring.
Brubaker’s comic book work has served as the basis for many television and film projects, such as Marvel Studios’ Captain America: The Winter Soldier being based on his re-introduction of Bucky Barnes as the brain-washed villain and Fox’s Gotham being partially inspired by his Gotham Central series for DC. In addition, his spy thriller series Velvet is in development as a television series for The Paramount Network,
