David Tennant – who recently joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Zebediah “Purple Man” Killgrave in Jessica Jones – has just jumped aboard another comic book adaptation. According to THR, the former Doctor Who star will lend his voice to the upcoming animated adaptation of Image Comics’ Chew.
Tennant’s role – of mentor-turned-villain Mason Savoy – was originally going to be filled by Robin Williams, who tragically committed suicide last summer. His death caused a stall in production, but now things are moving forward once more. The Walking Dead‘s Steven Yeun and The Guild actress/creator Felicia Day are already signed on for the film and recorded their parts last year.
Chew, created by John Layman (who penned the screenplay for the adaptation) and artist Rob Guillory, centers on an agent in the Food and Drug Administration named Tony Chu (Yeun), who solves crimes by receiving psychic impressions from whatever he eats. It’s a bizarre but unique story, and could lead to quite an interesting adaptation. Day will play Yeun’s love interest, a food critic who can write about food so well that the reader actually feels like they are tasting it.
Jeff Krelitz, who helmed the animated Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood: Web of Lies and Peter Panzerfaust motion comic adaptation, is in the director’s chair for Chew. The project does not currently have a release date just yet, but with Tennant now on board, that should change in the near future.
