Home Movies

Kevin Smith Would Direct DC Movie About The Question

Now, Kevin Smith is hardly the first director to come to mind when you think about the budding Marvel and DC Cinematic Universes, but the Tusk helmer is an avid comic-book fan, and if he had his way (which Smith openly admits is a very big 'if'), the director already knows exactly which superhero he'd want to make a movie about: DC Comics' vigilante The Question.

the question

Recommended Videos

Now, Kevin Smith is hardly the first director to come to mind when you think about the budding Marvel and DC Cinematic Universes, but the Tusk helmer is an avid comic-book fan, and if he had his way (which Smith openly admits is a very big ‘if’), the director already knows exactly which superhero he’d want to make a movie about: DC Comics’ vigilante The Question.

Who? That was my response too. The comic-book character (real name: Vic Sage) originated way back in 1967. In the mythology, Sage was a prominent investigative journalist who, unable to stop a crooked scientist without exposing his true identity, donned a mask made from an artificial skin-like substance called Pseudoderm. The substance, when coupled with a binary gas, essentially erased his features, leaving Sage with the horrifying appearance of a faceless man.

Smith made his preference known at the Produced By conference in Los Angeles while speaking with KPCC host John Horn. His idea involves taking a “noir-ish thriller” (a la Chinatown) approach to the character, about whom Smith says:

“I always thought if you were in an alley and f—ing Batman showed up you’d be like, ‘Oh f—, Batman.’ But if a dude shows up with no features and starts punching you, you would probably kill yourself in fear.”

The Question has never been one of the more popular comic-book vigilantes, but there is one way in which we could feasibly see the character brought to life – Renee Montoya became the vigilante after Sage, and Victoria Cartagena currently plays that character on Fox’s Gotham. Of course, Smith is probably too big to ever consider directing a TV episode in order to feature the character – what he’s talking about is a full-blown movie adaptation, which seems a bit more unlikely. Additionally, The Question seems extremely similar to Watchmen‘s Rorschach, at least superficially, and that may be enough to make studio execs skittish about committing to a cinematic take on the character.