Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen has flirted with the reboot treatment for years at this point. Following the middling 2003 adaptation that brought together Sean Connery et al., 20th Century Fox is said to be contemplating an all-female cast to spearhead a new live-action take on the classic Victorian tale.
That’s according to studio producer John Davis, who took time out at the Television Critics Association press tour to speak with Collider about the long-gestating project, and how the creative team may take cues from Mad Max: Fury Road (and Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters, perhaps) in instilling a female-centric plot.
Just by going back to the roots and making it authentic to what the fanbase was really excited about. It’s female-centric, which I think is interesting. I love female characters, point-of-view characters in action movies. I thought Mad Max was great. I think you can always find a fresh way of doing something and going back to the basics. What is that people love? What is it that made them love the property in the first place?
Given that this pitch is still in its nascent stages, Davis and Co. still have plenty to figure out before the reboot begins production in earnest. How, for instance, will Fox’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen switch to an all-female cast? Comprised of a supergroup that includes Allan Quatermain, Mina Murray, Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll, and the Invisible Man, will it be a case of rewriting the literary characters? Moore and O’Neill’s line-up starred in one of the most acclaimed comic series of the late 90s, and the possibility of altering those personas to chime with a female-centric dynamic is something we can definitely get behind.
Ultimately, 20th Century Fox’s unconventional Victorian supergroup is simply brimming with potential. With the right cast and writing team, the studio could engineer a bona fide universe with an all-female The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (read: Extraordinary Ladies) at the crux. Call it wishful thinking, but if John Davis’ vision pans out, it could be one of the freshest spins on comic lore in years.
