Chris McKay’s Reborn signs Bek Smith to script
The forthcoming Netflix adaptation of Mark Millar’s Reborn, set to be directed by Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie) and produced by Sandra Bullock (Bird Box), has found its screenwriter in the form of on-the-rise scribe Bek Smith, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Smith got her start in the Marvel writing program and has since landed a number of major film and TV projects, including a Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse spin-off, an adaptation of DC/Vertigo’s 100 Bullets set up at New Line Cinema and World War Something at Hulu and FX with Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion) attached to produce.
The series, created by Mark Millar (Kick-Ass) and Greg Capullo (Spawn), follows a woman named Bonnie Black who dies in a Manhattan hospital and finds herself reborn in Adystria, the land of the afterlife that holds her family and friends, along with monsters and dragons and a war between good and evil forces. Upon the realization her late husband is nowhere to be found, she sets out with her late father and a sword to find him somewhere in the battle-heavy area.
The film adaptation of Reborn will be produced by Bullock alongside Roy Lee and Miri Yoon from Vertigo Entertainment, with Millar and Capullo attached as executive producers, and Bullock is reportedly in talks to star in the project.
The project comes as Netflix has ordered multiple adaptations from Millar’s publishing company Millarworld after acquiring the publisher, including a Jupiter’s Legacy series from showrunner Steven DeKnight (Daredevil), followed by an American Jesus series from showrunners Everado and Leopoldo Gout (Molly’s Game) and film adaptations of Empress, Sharkey the Bounty Hunter and Huck, which are still currently in development.
Milllarworld has seen three of its properties adapted into feature projects in the past, with the first coming in the form of 2008’s Wanted based on the graphic novel miniseries of the same name which was a critical and commercial hit that has had a sequel stalled in developmental hell for over a decade now, followed by the 2010 and 2013 adaptations of the Kick-Ass franchise which were both critical hits although the second received much lower reviews than the first. The most recent adaptation was the 2014 espionage action comedy Kingsman: The Secret Service, which was a massive commercial and moderate critical success, spawning a sequel that replicated the commercial success of the first while receiving more mixed reviews, with a prequel currently in production for a November 8 release and a sequel and spin-off currently in development.
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Bullock most recently worked with Netflix on the adaptation of the thriller novel Bird Box, which while receiving generally mixed reviews from critics, has garnered a large cult following from audiences and has proven to be the streaming service’s most profitable venture, garnering over 80 million views in its first month of release. McKay, who made his directorial debut with the smash 2017 animated comedy The Lego Batman Movie, is currently in talks to direct the film adaptation of the tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons, as well as attached to direct the DCEU Nightwing film, an adaptation of the classic Hanna Barbera cartoon Jonny Quest and a sequel to his debut.