24. The American Way
An eight-issue mini-series from writer John Ridley and artist Georges Jeanty (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Return of Bruce Wayne), The American Way was set in the early 1960s, and depicted the adventures of The Civil Defence Corps, a government sponsored superhero team whose latest member, The New American, just so happens to be black. Seeing as its by the screenwriter of Three Kings, its no surprise that this book was full of biting satire and social commentary, with the series examining the key dividing issue of the 60s civil rights, and how attitudes towards race affected politics. If that all sounds a bit heavy then dont worry there was enough thrilling action, extreme violence and black humour to make this more than appealing to a mass audience. While comparisons to Watchmen are inevitable, Id argue that The American Way is actually far more suited to the big screen than Alan Moores magnum opus ever was.
How Close Is It To Being Made?: As far as far can be. The book wasnt a massive hit, being published by DCs then flagging, and now defunct, Wildstorm imprint. Also, it would cost far too much money to both a) recreate the 60s period accurately and b) destroy said period with lots of explosions and superhero fisticuffs. Not having the power of any brand superheroes behind it, it would likely be considered too much of a risk. However, Ridley is a respected screenwriter, so theres always that connection
Casting Choices: With his ability to balance nobility and fierce aggression, Denzel Washington would have been perfect for The New American, though hes probably a bit too old now so well have to settle for Jamie Foxx. As for Wes Chetham, the ordinary human who works as a handler for the Civil Defence Corps, Id go for Leonardo DiCaprio. His ability to seamlessly mix a restrained intensity alongside an everyman quality makes him a perfect fit and, as proven by his past roles, hell be more than able to stand out against a super-team of Gods and monsters. For Freya, the Wonder Woman proxy character, Id pick Homeland and Fireflys Morena Baccarin, as she has the Olympian looks as well as being one of the few actresses capable of both extreme grace as well as sly intimidation (just check out her role as alien empress in cancelled sci-fi V).The other roles are slightly trickier to cast, due to the fact that theyre archetypes clearly intended to represent the biggest and best of Marvel and DCs superheroes, as opposed to being fully three-dimensional characters. For this reason, Id argue a bit of stunt casting could work wonders look to the biggest and brightest of TV lands actors to round out the rest of the team roster, and dont be afraid of getting them to essentially play themselves.
Suggested by Dean Threadgold
23. Secret Wars
Marvel Secret Wars was a universe-wide crossover in 1984-85. A being known as the Beyonder decides to take Earth's greatest heroes and villains and pit them against each other to determine once and for all whether good or evil is stronger. The different heroes and villains immediately fall into different camps and an all out war begins. Magneto, interestingly, is placed on the side of good and begins a strange relationship with the Wasp. Spider-Man unwittingly discovered the Venom symbiote, mistaking it for a new costume, and brought it back to earth, an act that changed his life forever. Colossus fell in love with an alien healer, ending his long-term relationship with Kitty Pryde. The Thing becomes able to change back into Ben Grimm, leaving the Fantastic 4 for a year to travel the galaxy. Dr. Doom manages to steal the Beyonder's powers, becoming an omnipotent god, but in the end, good still triumphs. A Secret Wars film would make The Avengers look like Batman & Robin. The sheer scale and number of characters would make it one of the most epic films in the Superhero or any other genre. Imagine a film with the scale of Lord of the Rings, but with every Marvel superhero instead of hobbits and elves.
How Close It Is To Being Made?: As amazing as it would be to see Secret Wars on screen, it's highly unlikely that it will happen. For one thing, Marvel doesn't have the rights to all the necessary characters, such as Spider-Man and the FF. Given the recent debacle with reacquiring the rights to Daredevil, it's doubtful that Sony and Fox would be willing to sell the rights back. In addition, to tell the story right, it would need to be broken up into at least two films, if not three. It doesn't seem especially likely that we'll see that happen anytime soon.
Casting: If a Secret Wars film were to begin production today, Marvel would most likely put Joss Whedon in the directors chair after his uncontested success with The Avengers. Many of the major characters have already made it to the big screen, and I think most of them should be played by the same actors.
Suggested by David Molofsky
22. The Invisibles
A sexually charged, psychedelic epic set in a world of magic and intrigue, Grant Morrisons The Invisibles is utterly unique. Take the heroes of the piece for example, you have Jack Frost; a young thug from Manchester who is potentially the next Buddha. You have King Mob, a writer who has taken on the violent persona of his own creations and is worried that he is addicted to killing. A transvestite shaman called Lord Fanny, a time traveling telepath called Ragged Robin and an NYPD cop called Boy give us the weirdest and coolest line-up of super types that youve ever seen. The world of The Invisibles is one of complete moral corruption, where f***ed up fornication, intergalactic bestiality and physical and spiritual torture are pretty common. It is also a hard series to follow but given a chance, it will reward you by being a totally unique experience.
How Close Is It To Being Made?: There was some controversy with the Wachowski's when The Matrix came out as Grant Morrison pointed out that there were glaring similarities to his work (get in line Grant!). Other than that there has been no word on a potential adaptation. The Invisibles is such a left wing and messed up publication it is unlikely to ever get the budget it would need which is a shame as it would be the most unique movie ever made I should think.
Casting Choices: Daniel Craig as King Mob, Will Poulter as Jack Frost and Eva Green as Ragged Robin would be a good start.
Suggested by Ed Moorhouse
21. Ex Machina
Ex Machina is Brian K. Vaughans creator owned political thriller/superhero drama. It tells the story of Mitchell Hundred, a civil engineer who receives alien powers that allow him to communicate with technology; he uses these powers to become the worlds first superhero (The Great Machine). After a year as a superhero he reveals his secret identity, retires from vigilantism, and announces his bid for mayor of New York. The series manages to focus on Hundreds present political career while giving readers small glimpses into past; Including his relationship with characters like Rick Bradbury, his best friend and head of security, and Kremlin, Hundreds mentor during his time as the Great Machine. Ex Machina provides a relatively realistic picture of how modern America would react to a meta-human politician.
How Close Is It To Being Made: In 2005 New Line Cinema acquired the rights to produce a film based on the comic, and announced comic writer Glen Brunswick and creator Brian K. Vaughan were set write the script. Recently the rights to the film were returned Vaughan and artist Tony Harris, no word of a cast or release date yet, but with the project back in the right hands anything can happen. Any one of the ten books that make up the series would make for a great film, and the non linear nature of the story, make it easy for the writers to set up sequels. As Hundreds past mistakes begin to come to light another chapter of the story unfolds.
Casting Choices: Neil Patrick Harris would make a convincing Mitchell Hundred, he looks the part and most importantly he would bring a charisma to the character similar to the one found in the source material. Rick Bradbury is Mitchells best friend and body guard he is a hard headed, stubborn and serves mainly as the muscle; who better to play the brute strength than the hero of Canton Adam Baldwin. Hes more than qualified for the role, with so tough guy roles under his belt; you could probably assemble a whole battalion from the fictional soldiers hes played. As for Kremlin, Christopher Lloyd would be perfect if he could fake a Russian accent.
Suggested by Dipo Olawo
20. Chew
Following Tony Chu- an FDA cibopath (he detects psychic impressions from whatever he eats) as he eats his way to solving a number of food related crimes in a future in which chicken is illegal following a bird flu epidemic killed 23 million Americans. Unfortunately for Chu, his abilities translate to all forms of meat, including human, and he is frequently and disturbingly forced to use them to detect the causes of murders. It's a truly excellent concept, and the characters are incredible, especially Mason Savoy, Chu's first cibopath FDA partner, so any possible adaptation would have to go down as a great idea. There's as much comedy as there is actual detective work, and there's definitely something to be said for the property's narrative innovation.
How Close Is It To Being Made? - Comic Con 2010 brought news that Circle of Confusion would be adapting the comic book franchise as a TV series, and Showtime then cemented the news last year. But since then, not much has happened, despite Showtime having a pilot script by two of the Eureka writing team and a pilot director in the form of Stephen Hopkins. It should happen, as it's in production right now, but the slow pace isn't exactly confidence-building.
Casting Choices: I'd love to see John Cho in the lead (and not just because of the name similarities), though Ken Leung would be as good a choice, with Chew's creators said to favour the Lost actor, and only someone with the presence of John Goodman, John Rhys Davies or maybe even Stephen Fry could handle the exacting demands of Mason Savoy. Any of those three in that role would guarantee entertainment.
Suggested by Simon Gallagher