For as long as the Archie comics have been in circulation, it’s incredible that it has taken this long for a film adaptation to be produced. Maybe it can be attributed to the fact that Archie comics have long been known to lack the same luster as something that comes from DC, Marvel, or Dark Horse. But Warner Brothers has finally found a way for the iconic comic book character to come alive on the big screen, with a slight twist of course.
It’s being reported that Pitch Perfect director Jason Moore has just signed a deal to helm an adaptation of Afterlife with Archie, a spinoff comic in which Archie, Jughead, Betty, and the rest of the gang having a run in with the undead.
The screenplay will be based on the Afterlife with Archie comic, a new ongoing comic set to arrive sometime this that’s written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Glee). The writer says that this film will combine his two great loves of comics and zombies, and that it will be set in present day Riverdale. The film will combine horror elements from places like Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead and literature like Stephen King’s The Stand.
While there will be horror themes in this film, it isn’t meant to replace the usual Archie Comics, just supplement them. Fans of the comic will recognize the “elements that are quintessentially Archie.”
Aguirre-Sacasa rewrote the broadway musical Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark and scripted the upcoming remake of Carrie. He has also written multiple episodes for shows like Glee and Big Love.
It should be interesting to see if this twist is enough of a draw of fans to get interested in Archie comics. As aforementioned, the comic though iconic, isn’t anything like the bigger comic book characters. But making a film adaptation for a boring character by adding zombies seems more like a cash grab than anything else. Still, there is some hope that this could be fun as these clean cut characters are thrust into a situation like the zombie apocalypse.
[Source: Deadline]
Deadline seems to be mixing up two stories; the movie will be a straight adaptation (and why has it taken so long for that to happen?), while Afterlife With Archie will be a comic.
Comment by KingZilch — June 7, 2013 @ 3:50 pm