Say what you like about Marvel Studios’ output so far (and really, only “Iron Man” has been an out-and-out victory, creatively and commercially), but they’re not shy about making brave choices. While we still live in fear of Joe Johnston’s appointment to directorial duties on “Captain America: The First Avenger,” their other directorial picks, of Jon Favreau, Kenneth Branagh and Joss Whedon, have been ballsy, and the movies have been impeccably cast.
This looks to continue with what might be their first movie outside of the build up to “The Avengers” — an adaptation of Brian K Vaughan’s “Runaways.” Joss Whedon, who also wrote for the series — following the teen children of supervillains in L.A. who discover their parents’ true identities and go on the run — was in the running to direct the picture before he signed on to “The Avengers,” so Peter Sollett (“Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist”) took the helm instead.
While we weren’t big fans of ‘Nick and Norah,’ we adored Sollett’s debut “Raising Victor Vargas” (the guy’s wonderful with young actors), and the project now has a writer with at least as much leftfield promise. Drew Pearce, the creator of British superhero sitcom “No Heroics,” has, according to Deadline, landed the hotly contested job of writing the script for the picture. Original creator Brian K Vaughan had written a feature script at some point, but it’s unclear whether Pearce is rewriting that, or starting from scratch.
The original comic series is pretty wonderful, at least in its early days, and Pearce is a great hire; “No Heroics,” while not seen by many, was a smart and funny take on the genre, and one teeming over with a love for it. You can have a look at a clip from the series below, as well as a brilliant short film co-written and directed by Pearce featuring rising British comedy duo Ginger and Black that will hopefully give you a taste of where he’s coming from.
