The moody horror comic The Darkness has spawned a video game and sequel, sold over 25 million copies since its inception in 1996, and is now getting a feature film adaptation. According to 24 Frames, Mandeville Films has made a deal with The Darkness publisher Top Cow to develop a film based on the supernatural mobster comic.
The upcoming Comic-Con in San Diego usually comes with a healthy dose of entertainment and pop culture news, and this announcement will no doubt have fans of the comic book as well as fans of the video game jumping for joy, or cringing, depending on your level of faith in Hollywood’s ability to convert this concept to film.
Top Cow’s founder Marc Silvestri co-created this genre comic about a mobster named Jackie Estacado, who comes of age and develops a supernatural power called “The Darkness”. This power gives him the ability to summon demonic creatures from another realm, which he must tame in order to kill all the mobster baddies.
Mandeville, a Walt Disney affiliate, is certainly a company on the rise. They’ve made two more deals with Top Cow in the past to develop movies based on comic books Alibi and Crosshair. They’re also behind the upcoming re-boot of The Muppets, and last year’s Oscar contender The Fighter.
I guess we’ll have to wait for more information on script, cast and director before we decide if this is going to be a dismal adaptation or something to get excited about.