Netflix is entering the comic book world deeper today. It announced its purchase of the indie comic book publisher Millarworld and said it plans to create movies, TV series, and more based on the universe.
Below, we’re going to take a look into the Millarworld library, which, on face value, most won’t know many of but would’ve heard of some of their biggest-known titles. In a forum post, Mark Millar (the owner of Millarworld) compared the deal to Warner Bros. buying DC comics and Disney buying Marvel.
Mark added to the forum post: ‘The moment Lucy and I walked into Netflix’s headquarters in California last Christmas, we knew this was where we wanted to be. It instantly felt like home and the team around that table felt like people who would help us take Millarworld’s characters and turn them into global powerhouses. Netflix is the future and we couldn’t be more thrilled to sell the business to them and buckle up for all the amazing movies and television shows we plan to do together. This feels like joining the Justice League and I can’t wait to start working with them.’
What is Millarworld?
They’re an independent comic book creator by Mark Millar and his wife, Lucy. They specialize in comic book heroes, and while they’re not as well known as the big two, they’ve still managed to get some of their titles into the limelight.
Mark, the main writer, worked for Marvel for several years, producing multiple story arcs, including the one currently used for Captain America: Civil War.
Some of their titles include Wanted (which was turned into a movie starring James Mcavoy and Angelina Jolie), Kick-ass and Kingsman (both of which are also thriving movies), as well as lesser-known comic book titles such as Nemesis, The Heist, Superior, Starlight, Chrononauts, Empress, Reborn, Huck and Jupiter’s Circle. A full list can be found here.
Kingsman and Kick-ass are not included in the deal
One of the most disappointing parts of this deal is that they don’t include Kingsman and Kickass both retroactively and going forward. Kick-ass was the first to get its own movie debut and was quickly followed by The Kingsman. Both have been sold previously, with Kick-Ass belonging to Lionsgate and Kingsman belonging to 20th Century Fox. The movies aren’t coming to Netflix as part of this deal, but given the purchase, it’s certainly a deal that’d make sense in the future.
What’s the plan?
At the moment, all plans for what’s next have been kept under wraps. We know that both TV series and movies are in production, and there’s even mention of some kids’ shows that will come out of this venture, too. Don’t expect anything to be released in 2017, but once the taps have started flowing, we expect a continuous flow of Millarworld content coming to Netflix, somewhat similar to The Defenders.
It’s also expected that Netflix will pick up the mantle and break into the comic book world.
Are you excited for what’s to come? Let us know in the comments below.
