In addition to screenwriter, producer and director, you can now add graphic novelist to the extensive list of James Wan’s talents. Three years back, the Insidious director jotted out his first full-length graphic novel entitled Malignant Man. Its very existence was seen as an intriguing prospect, being that the man behind it has spawned a successful career out of original cult horror properties. So, it came as no surprise when Fox began sniffing around last summer with the hopes of adapting it as a feature.
Originally, the studio had earmarked Wan himself to script and direct the movie, which revolves around Alan Gates, “a terminal cancer patient who realizes that his tumor is actually a parasite and after given otherworldly powers, he must battle an army of evil buried beneath society’s skin while learning things about his own past.” The latest news from Deadline reports that Wan is still in place to direct and develop, with upcoming screenwriter Zak Olkewicz tapped to pen the script.
Olkewicz is described by the outlet as having a pre-existing relationship with Fox after the studio bought his original horror pitch Elimination 21. However, another of his properties explained in broader detail makes his attachment to Malignant Man all the more exciting. Apparently snapped up by TWC’s Harvey Weinstein, Ink & Bone revolves around “an editor who is dispatched to help a reclusive horror writer finish his latest book only to find that he’s being held prisoner in his house by everything he’s ever written.” How is this movie not playing on a screen before me right now?! That brief logline hints at a “In The Mouth Of Madness meets anything remotely meta penned by Stephen King” vibe. It also suggests that while he’s not yet a well-known name, Olkewicz soon will be.
Tell us, what do you make of this latest wedge of news on Malignant Man? Let us know your thoughts below!
