When it comes to comic book creators, few names are as popular in Hollywood as Mark Millar. His comics have consistently been turned into major box-office hits, fromKick-AsstoThe Kingsman, toCaptain America: Civil War. Now, Netflix is preparing to release the live-action series adaptation ofJupiter’s Legacy, a comic series that Millar first published in 2013. In an interview with EW, Millar described the upcoming adaptation as a superhero epic with echoes ofThe Lord of the RingsandThe Godfather.
“I wanted to do one story that wouldbecome the biggest superhero epic of all time. I wanted to do the superhero Lord of the Rings that would be timeless and just a bumper collection of books people would be reading in 50 or 100 years time… [Jupiter’s Legacy is like The Godfather] in the sense that it’s about an unusual family at the heart of the most outrageous situation. But it feels incredibly human and very layered because you can relate to everybody within the story and it gives it that humanity.”
TheJupiter’s Legacycomics tell the story of a Superman-like character, named The Utopian, who shares his powers with a close circle of friends and relatives after a trip to a mysterious island. Armed with their powers, the group of heroes set about crafting a legacy of idealistic heroism that sets an example for the rest of the world.
In present times, that legacy has become an albatross around the neck of The Utopian’s children, who struggle under the weight of living up to the standards set by their parents. Thus, a generational struggle starts to build up between the “classic” heroes from The Utopian’s generation, and the new breed of “anti-heroes” looking to carve their own identity. According toMark Millar, that struggle is the starting point forJupiter’s Legacy.
“It all ties into thisbig science-fiction concept. But then you can knuckle it down to something even simpler: what if the world’s coolest guy, like Superman, married the world’s coolest woman, like Wonder Woman, and they had these fucking awful children who would be like the Kardashians?… After almost a century of superheroes just maintaining the status quo the smart ones start wondering what happens if they break the rules the older heroes have held onto their entire lives. What happens if they step out of this repetitive cycle? This is our starting point and it just goes nuts from here.”
The first look at the new show that has been shared by Netflix indicates that this is going to be the most faithfuladaptation of a Mark Millar comic seriesyet. And hopefully, one of the best adaptations as well. Netflix’sJupiter’s Legacystars Josh Duhamel as The Utopian, Ben Daniels as Brain-Wave, Leslie Bibb as Lady Liberty, Elena Kampouris as Chloe Sampson, Andrew Horton as Brandon Sampson, Mike Wade as The Flare, Anna Akana as Raikou, and Matt Lanter as Skyfox. The series premieres on May 7 on Netflix. This news originated atEntertainment Weekly.
