Now that comic book scribe Mark Millar can claim responsibility for the glittering success of both the Kick-Ass series and Kingsman: The Secret Service – itself on the path to becoming a franchise – you can understand the writer taking a break from the movie scene. How and ever, not one to rest on his laurels, Millar has teed up another comic-to-film property in Huck, and now the talent has vouched for Channing Tatum to land the title role.
Created alongside artist Rafael Albuquerque (American Vampire), Huck is a 6-issue miniseries that recently stumbled onto a path to the silver screen when Jeff Robinov’s Studio 8 picked up the rights earlier this month. While it’s still incubating in the early stages, Millar believes Tatum would make a perfect fit for the “Forest Gump/Captain America” style of character – a decision swayed by the Jump Street actor rushing to Stan Lee’s side during San Diego Comic-Con back in July.
Billed as your average do-gooder, Millar’s latest creation is certainly a world away from the superhero fare filling up the cinema screens today, and here’s a brief excerpt of the series to give you an idea of the plot.
“Huck follows the eponymous Huck, pitched as Captain America meets Forest Gump, a small-town Maine gas-station worker who has an incredible secret – he’s superstrong. Anonymously performing a good deed everyday is fine enough for Huck, though the good-natured countryman finds his quiet existence thrown into disarray when a newcomer to his town alerts the media.”
As for Tatum’s potential involvement, the actor remains attached to 20th Century Fox’s long-gestating X-Men offshoot Gambit. It’s currently on course for a release in early 2017, and any such commitment to Millar’s Huck will surely throw a spanner in the works. Can Fox and Studio 8 figure out a solution that would ensure Tatum’s involvement in the adaptation? Time will tell.
Mark Millar’s 6-issue miniseries launches this fall, with the first installment available soon.