In a move to strengthen their comic book franchises, 20th Century Fox has brought on comic book writer Mark Millar to serve as creative consultant on the studio’s Marvel Comics properties.
Millar – who is best known for writing some of the most acclaimed comics series in the last 10 years, including; The Ultimates, Civil War, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, Kick-Ass, and Nemesis – will start his new job at Fox with its tent-pole franchises X-Men and Fantastic Four.
Millar had this to say about the new opportunity:
“As someone who has spent his entire life obsessed with both comic-books and movies, this is essentially my dream gig as it’s a unique combination of both. I spent ten years working at Marvel and am really happy with the work I did on the comic side of things so the idea of working with these characters now in a brand new medium is enormously exciting for me. I really like the Fox team, love this bold new direction they have for their franchises and am proud to be working alongside some of modern cinema’s biggest talents. James Mangold is incredible, Matthew Vaughn’s one of my closest pals and Josh Trank gave us, in my opinion, one of the greatest superhero movies of the last decade with Chronicle. The invitation to join this crew was maybe the coolest phone-call I’ve ever had.”
Fox will also be home to Millar’s own series Nemesis, which had Tony Scott attached to direct at one point but will now be directed by The Grey’s Joe Carnahan.
Seems like a smart move by Fox to continue the recent success they’ve had with X-Men: First Class and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Millar may not be loved by all in the comics community for his sometimes brash statements and over-the-top storylines, but I can still see him being a useful tool for filmmakers seeking creative advice.
Fox’s next Marvel releases will be The Wolverine directed by James Mangold, X-Men: Days of Future Past and a reboot of Fantastic Four by Josh Trank.
What do you guys think of Mark Millar‘s involvement? Are you a fan of his work? Let us know in the comments.
