Comic-Con: Russos Developing Grimjack and Battle of the Planets Movies
It was one of the most highly-anticipated and talked about panels for this year’s San Diego Comic-Con and amidst the reminiscing of their time with Marvel and this year’s groundbreaking Avengers: Endgame, the Russo Brothers have revealed that they are producing an adaptation of the cult favorite comic Grimjack for Amazon and of the anime series Battle of the Planets.
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There’s been a lot of speculation on what the next project will be from the Russo Brothers after the acclaimed and box office smash that was Avengers: Endgame and the upcoming bank robber drama Cherry starring Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Far From Home), and while the duo confirmed they won’t helm the Grimjack adaptation, they haven’t closed the door yet to sitting in the director’s chair for Battle of the Planets.
“If we were to make it, it would be a live-action film,” Joe Russo said on the panel. The 48-year-old filmmaker described his days as a kid running home from school to watch the acclaimed anime series.
Originally based on the 1972 Japanese anime series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, the American adaptation Battle of the Planets was made by Sandy Frank Entertainment and follows a group of five young people known as G-Force who protect the Earth from the planet Spectra and any other extraterrestrial foes. No writer or director is currently set for the Russos-produced adaptation.
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Grimjack, created by John Ostrander and Timothy Truman, followed John Gaunt, a sword-for-hire war veteran and his crew as they dig through their pasts after the titular mercenary’s teenage daughter comes to them for help in the pan-dimensional city entitled Cynosure. An adaptation was originally slated for the material back in 1996 with Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski set to write and direct, but plans fell through given his work on the sci-fi series. Defiance creator Kevin Murphy is currently attached to script the adaptation for Amazon while the Russos will produce through their banner AGBO.
