THR is reporting that Channing Tatum’s Free Association and Roy Lee’s Vertigo Entertainment are teaming up for an adaptation of Sam Kieth’s cult comic book series The Maxx.
Created by Kieth and launching via Image Comics in 1993, The Maxx revolves around the titular character, who exists both in the real world and an alternate reality/dream world known as the Outback. In the real world, he is a homeless man, frequently dismissed as being mentally ill, and whose only friend is the social worker Julie Winters. However, in the Outback, he is a powerful masked hero who serves as protector of the Jungle Queen (Julie – who is unaware of the existence of this alternate reality).
The Maxx was previously adapted as a 13-episode animated series as part of MTV’s Oddities, which was nominated for an Annie Award for Best Animated Television Program and helped the comic to achieve cult status.
According to THR’s report, it’s undecided at this point whether the project will take the form of a feature film or TV series, and the producers – which includes Tatum, Lee and Kieth – are currently meeting with filmmakers and writers in an effort to find the right take for the material.
