99. ROM Spaceknight
ROM Spaceknight was a series contrived by Marvel to (futilely) build interest in a new Parker Brothers toy called Rom the Space Knight. The ROM series is a natural for Hollywood - a utopian planet in the far reaches of the galaxy is threatened by an evil race of aliens (the Dire Wraiths) who use black magic to achieve their ends. A 1,000 volunteers from Galador (the planet being threatened) agree to temporarily give up their humanity to become nearly unstoppable cyborgs, each with a unique array of weaponry and powers. The remnants of the aliens escape to Earth, where ROM arrives to banish them to limbo with his Neutralizer gun. But there's a catch. The aliens are shape-shifters and it appears ROM is simply vaporizing innocent human beings. Add to the mix a love interest in the helpful Brandy Clark, a final resolution of the Spaceknights defeating the Dire Wraiths, some rogue Spaceknights destroying Galador but eventually being defeated by the good Spaceknights, the good Spaceknights tragically discovering that their humanity is forever lost, and ROM regaining his humanity and winning the heart of Brandy and you have a classic good vs. evil / boy gets girl plot line that lends itself to all sorts of special effects.
How Close Is It To Being Made? - Not at all. Parker Brothers still retains the rights to ROM, so Marvel Comics is unable to give sole permission for filming.
Casting Choices - Jim Caviezel seems like a great choice for ROM. He has the ability to deliver that pathetic puppy look that would be required for ROM's human scenes. For Brandy Clark I would have to go with someone like Jordana Spiro (from American the TV show "My Boys") or Zooey Deschanel. The actress who plays Brandy would have to be able to pull off the tomboyish yet attractive demeanor and each of these actresses has done so in the past.
Suggested by Tim Rich
98. The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius
The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius is a comic book meta series created by, written by and (you guessed it) illustrated by Judd Winick - the guy off MTV reality series The Real World. It revolves around the growing pains of a ten year old boy named Barry (surprise) who secretly is the most intellectually advanced person on the planet. Faced with the usual pre-teen issues Barry also has an array of other problems usually caused by his malfunctioning inventions.
How Close Is It To Being Made?: Again there are no plans to make a Barry Ween movie, and this is a real shame. Barry is the anti-Jimmy Neutron, a foul mouthed inventor with a massive chip on his shoulder. Keep his attitude and make a great adult animation? Remove the more excessive vulgarity (references to masturbation etc) and there's a new hero for the younger (not young) audiences - a Bart Simpson with a brain.
Casting Choices: If you're going to make this an animated movie then you're choices are a lot easier than if this were live action. There's a ton of great voice actors that could pull off pretending to be Barry, but who'd be the right choice to play him in a live action movie, let alone his stupid best friend Jeremy? We're leaning towards Tucker Albrizzi )Alvin and the Chipmunks) - get rid of some of his cheeky charm and he's a great choice to play the little bastard.
Suggested by Matt Aspin
97. Battle Chasers
Battle Chasers, created by
Joe Madureira in 1998 only lasted nine issues due to some behind the scenes politics in the comic book world but for those nine issues
Madureira delivered a fantastic world of fantasy adventure, loaded with epic visuals and characters that brought it all to life. Nine-year-old girl named Gully, whose father mysteriously vanishes, leaving behind a pair of magical gloves is our central character but along the way we meet Garrison, a mourning swordsman, the wizard Kholan and the war machine Calibretto. There are also werewolves, bad guys and crazy proportioned bad girl Red Monika. To be fair, with only nine issues, the story never really got to the places it wanted to go. This short run still managed to feel like an exciting story, the characters went to large, action packed places and the cinematic approach to the plot was perfectly pitched. For me, a reader who doesnt really go for the fantasy genre all that much, Battle Chasers stuck with me despite the short run and is a story I would love to see adapted for film.
How Close Is It To Being Made?: Given the short run, Battle Chasers has all but disappeared off of the comic book radar. There was a recent deluxe reprinting but even that didnt manage to light a big enough spark to get Hollywood talking about adapting it for film.
Casting Choices: Battle Chasers is a fantasy story but I wouldnt want to see this handled like Lord of the Rings. I think Id prefer a much more colourful approach, given the steam punk feel to some elements. With that said, Im drawing a blank on casting choices because these characters were not quite developed enough to start putting famous faces on. I think Battle Chasers would fit beautifully within the world of feature length animation. A big epic two hour adventure with Madureiras art style feels like the perfect place to re-launch Battle Chasers.
Suggested by Marcus Doidge
96. Creature Tech
Dr. Michael Ong is a paranormal scientist who works for the Research Technical Institute, staffed by locals of Turlock, California. He has a fractured relationship with the people of this city, having given up on following his father into Religion and the comic does manage to balance the argument between Faith and Science quite well. Primarily though, the appeal for me, is the wacky inventiveness of the main plot and the fate that befalls Dr. Ong. When the ghost of 19th century loon Dr. Jameson returns, thanks in part to a deal with a demon named Hellcat, he is set upon finding the giant space eel that killed him. Meanwhile, Ong is injured in a fray and an alien symbiote helps to keep him alive, and endows him with certain superhuman abilities. What follows is an off-beat race against time, as Jameson uses the Shroud of Turin to ressurect, at first, his own body and later various demoic minions (in one hilarious aside it winds up in a butcher's shop and brings all the meat back to life).
How Close Is It To Being Made?: Though Doug TenNapel's website lists Creature Tech (along with Ghostopolis and Monster Zoo) as in development there doesn't seem to have been too much action on any of these projects of late. However, it does, at least, mean the idea is floating around to bring some of TenNapel's quirky worlds to the silver screen and Creature Tech could fill a Men In Black/Ghostbusters shaped space in any studio's schedules.
Casting Choices: Someone like Michael Fassbender would be able to balance the emotional conflict at the core of Ong with the stronger elements, it'd be refreshing to see Fassbender play in more nutty territory as well. Meanwhile the evil Dr. Jameson would be a nice hammy opportunity for someone like Jude Law to play against type.
Suggested by Owain Paciuskzo
95. She-Hulk and Wyatt Wingfoot Romance
While the romance between Wyatt Wingfoot and She-Hulk ultimately ends in failure, it is still the kind of story preferred by modern movie makers. While Wyatt is all man (excellent tracker, skilled at hand-to-hand combat, superior marksman, experienced horseman, brave, strong, tall, handsome, a tribal chieftain, etc.,), still, he is inferior in many ways to the woman in his life - She-Hulk. Kinda' reminds me of half the movies being produced nowadays.Of course, their romance doesn't have to end. I'm sure there are many fans in the Marvel realm that would love to see these two together forever.
How Close Is It To Being Made? - Closer than you might think. She-Hulk is a natural character for films - she's pretty, sexy, sassy, green, big, and she beats people up. What more could you ask for? With her impending appearance in Avengers 2, She-Hulk is just one step away from her own film. In addition, with the first Avengers film, the movie-going world has already been introduced to S.H.I.E.L.D. and of course they will remember The Fantastic Four. Each of these groups plays an important role in the comic book version of the She-Hulk / Wingfoot romance, making it all the easier to create this film.
Casting Choices - There are several actresses that come to mind for She-Hulk. Julia Roberts certainly has the hair, the size, and the slight inhuman quality of her mouth as assets. There are rumors of Angie Harmon wanting to play She-Hulk in Avengers 2. Rene Russo could even pull it off with enough makeup. But for me, I would have to select Laura Prepon of "That 70's Show" fame. Laura is butch enough and large enough to play She-Hulk. Plus, she's got that slightly husky voice that seems to fit such a character. Put all of this together with her ample curves, and you just might have a great She-Hulk! As for Wyatt Wingfoot, the choice would have to be a dark yet large man. This obviously leaves out Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp (thank heavens). I might just have to go with Gil Birmingham of "Twilight" fame. Birmingham might be a touch old for the role of Wyatt Wingfoot, but his face defies his age to a large degree. If we can have a 28 year old Olivia-Newton John playing a teenager in Grease, why not an almost 50 year old Birmingham playing Wyatt Wingfoot? Relatively unknown actor Eddie Spears is another possibility for Wingfoot. He has the athletic training (from his role as Black Cloud in the film of the same name) and physical size to pull it off.
Suggested by Tim Rich