David Farnor | On 26, Mar 2016

Peter Serafinowicz will play The Tick in Amazon’s upcoming pilot.

The British comedian, who has given us everything from Darth Maul’s booming voice to the Brian Butterfield Diet, has been signed up as the lead for Amazon Studios’ adaptation of the comic book character. Ben Edlund’s hero was first created back in 1986, before his unique brand of spoof superheroics translated to the screen for a 1990s animated series (pictured above), which became a cult hit. The Tick returned to TV once more in 2011 for a live-action comedy series on Fox, starring Patrick Warburton, but it was cancelled after nine episodes.

Edlund, though, is back on board the latest attempt to take The Tick to the small screen, both writing and executive producing the pilot. He’s joined by fellow exec producer Barry Josephson and original studio Sony Pictures TV, reports Deadline, with Warburton also expected to have an exec producer credit.

Amazon, for those who are not familiar with its commissioning process, release its programme tasters in seasons throughout the year, using audience ratings and feedback to decide which to order as full series. Alongside the antennae-sporting Serafinowicz will be Griffin Newman as sidekick Arthur, who finds himself helping The Tick after the blue-suited hero loses his memory. The two will be joined by new characters, including Arthur’s sister, Dot, played by Valorie Curry.

The Tick pilot will be directed by Wally Pfister, who is well known for his work as a DoP for Christopher Nolan’s Memento, Inception and Batman trilogy. His debut helming effort, Transcendence, was less well received, but Pfister is no stranger to the streaming game: he most recently directed four episodes of Will Arnett’s Netflix original series, Flaked.

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