Gunpowder & Sky’s sci-fi label DUST announced today that it has acquired the rights to Kyle Higgins (Nightwing, Batman: Gates of Gotham), Alec Siegel (Batman Beyond) and Rod Reis’ (Winter Soldier) interstellar noir comic, Hadrian’s Wall, and has partnered with Higgins to develop into a feature film that he will write and direct.
The characters and concepts first appear in Hadrian’s Wall #1, also can be found on Amazon and Mycomicshop.com
The deal marks the first adaptation for creator Higgins, a New York Times #1 best-selling author and fan favorite, best-known for his work on DC Comics’ Batman line and the recent Boom Studios comic book crossover event, Power Rangers: Shattered Grid. Higgins also directed a live-action trailer for Shattered Grid that earned more than 12 million cross-platform views in the first two weeks of release.
Billed as a locked-room murder mystery in space, Hadrian’s Wall follows a pill-popping detective sent to interview the crew of a distant survey ship, when his ex-wife’s new husband dies in suspicious circumstances amidst a broiling cold war between Earth and her distant colony.
“Although Hadrian’s Wall takes place a century into the future, the crew of the space vessel navigates both a murder mystery and a civil war in a world smartly mirroring our present day,” said Cody Zwieg, Senior Vice President of Development and Production, Gunpowder & Sky. “Higgins turned the classic whodunit tale on its head and shot it into space. This is exactly the kind of film we like to put out at DUST and Gunpowder & Sky.”
Higgins added, “I was blown away by the filmmaker-friendly team at Gunpowder & Sky and I’m grateful to be making my first feature with them. It was immediately clear how passionate they are and we share the same vision for how to bring Hadrian’s Wall to the big screen. The best murder mysteries are vehicles for character study, and at its core, this is a story about relationships, set in one of the most isolated places in the universe. I think fans of the book will be as thrilled as I am.”
As a producer, distributor and purveyor of short films, feature-length movies, and sci-fi series, DUST recently premiered sci-fi western, PROSPECT, in theaters across the country, and announced the expansion of its sci-fi channel, DUSTx, now available on Roku and Twitch. DUST’s acquisition of Hadrian’s Wall marks another milestone in the sci-fi label’s initiative to ramp up original scripted content as part of their newly announced platform expansion.
Higgins is represented by UTA and Agile Entertainment. Hadrian’s Wall is published by Image Comics and Glénat Editions, in conjunction with Omar Spahi and OSSM Comics.
As I recall it was a bit of a murder-mystery in space where a man has his ex-wife ask him to investigate the death of her new husband. I could see this being adapted well.
I realize I restated much of the article’s details after I read it more closely. Lol.
Hyper targeted streaming content has it’s niche .. and, you never know if a breakout hit will materialize .. I doubt, however, that extensive national theater exposure is in the cards ..
Was just reading Rot and Ruin got optioned
Thanks. Will look into it.