Mark Millar announces Netflix spy series and return of The Magic Order
James R | On 12, May 2021
Mark Millar has announced a new spy series in the works at Netflix.
The live-action espionage thriller is Millar’s first since Kingsman, but the writer-director has described it as “a very different kind of property”.
“The writer is someone I’ve been a massive fan of for two decades, and he was the only person I approached,” he added. “This has the potential to be one of the biggest franchises I’ve ever created.”
The news comes as Millar delivers a string of updates relating to his production slate, tying in with the debut of Jupiter’s Legacy, his new superhero drama for Netflix based on his comic books, which he co-created with Frank Quitely.
Millar (Kick-Ass, Kingsman) sold his comic book company Millarworld to Netflix in 2017. Since then, it has published comic book series The Magic Order and also announced a string of adaptations for the streaming giant based on its titles, giving Netflix its own in-house comic book IP.
Last year, the planned screen adaptation of The Magic Order was suspended during the coronavirus pandemic, but now, Millar revealed that The Magic Order is in active development once again.
“Some time away has given us a chance to come back with a completely fresh look at the material, and we should be getting into our new writers’ room very shortly,” he confirmed. “I created it to be a live-action series, but as comic fans know, I’m also passionate about doing books. I’m excited to report that we have The Magic Order volume 2 launching in October by the legendary Stuart Immonen and volume 3 immediately afterwards by the sensational European artist Gigi Cavenago.”
Other updates from Millar include the development for American Jesus, which is “coming along beautifully” in the hands of Everardo Gout (Marvel’s Luke Cage, Sacred Lies) and Leopoldo Gout (Molly’s Game, Instinct).
“I’m blown away by the creative choices that Netflix has allowed us, and particularly since this series will feature Spanish and English dialogue,” Millar said.
The anime adaptation of Super Crooks will arrive later this year. The superpowered heist comic about eight super-villains is told in 13 30-minute episodes, produced by Bones.inc (My Hero Academia, Mob Psycho 100, Godzilla Singular Point). Fans will be able to catch the first glimpse of this highly anticipated series at the Annecy Festival this June.
On the film side, Reborn is currently being written by Bek Smith, who came out of the Marvel Writing Program. Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie) will direct and Sandra Bullock will produce along with Vertigo Entertainment.
Empress, Huck, and Sharkey The Bounty Hunter also continue to move forward with all three features in various stages of development. Prodigy has also been added to the slate with a script by Matthew and Ryan Firpo (Marvel’s The Eternals).
“We are being thoughtful and deliberate, taking our time in building out each story organically. Our slate is curated to feature a wide variety of content – but you’ll feel the Millarworld DNA in all of them – always through an “artist” and “fan-first” lens,” Millar added.