Incognito, the cult comic series from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, has wandered down a long and meandering road in its path to landing a big-screen adaptation. There finally appears to be light at the end of the tunnel, however, as The Hollywood Reporter has revealed Daniel Casey and Fede Alvarez have both agreed to terms to board Sony’s long-gestating feature.
Coming off horror hit Don’t Breathe, Alvarez is a major coup for the studio while Casey, having contributed to the screenplay for the rather excellent 10 Cloverfield Lane, is a fine candidate to tackle this new take on the infamous Zack Overkill. Birthed as a six-issue miniseries by Marvel’s creator-owned Icon Comics imprint, an adaptation of Incognito initially set up shop at Fox. An end product never materialized, though, and screen rights were eventually passed onto Sony, where Peter Chernin and his Chernin Entertainment remain attached to produce.
Without any casting details to report, it’s still early days on this one, but the fact that Brubaker and Phillips’ creation centers on a supervillain fighting to survive while housed up in the witness protection program immediately piques our curiosity. It’s a story that sets Zack Overkill on a warpath with his former employer, The Black Death, and at least based on the synopsis, Incognito has cinematic potential in spades.
The protagonist is Zack Overkill, a ruthless villain who is powered by super strength. He is caught and rats out his boss, The Black Death. He goes into witness protection. He’s given a drug to dull his powers and takes a normal guy job as delivering the mail. By the time he discovers that messing with certain drugs restores his power, he has developed something of a conscience. He becomes a vigilante and soon, his exploits become known to The Black Death, who is out for revenge.
The wheels are finally beginning to ache into motion for Incognito at Sony. Expect further developments to emerge once the long-gestating project starts to gather pace.
