Robert Kirkman is a comic book writer that fans of the medium probably know very well. From his work at Marvel and other superheroes to the creation of “The Walking Dead” and various other massive series, Kirkman has established himself as one of the best the medium has seen in the modern era. And obviously, he’s been able to translate that success to the realm of TV with the aforementioned “The Walking Dead” and the upcoming Amazon animated series, “Invincible,” adapted from his very own comic book.
And on this episode of The Playlist Podcast, Robert Kirkman stops by to discuss “Invincible,” how animation is easier than live-action for some comic book stories, an update on “The Walking Dead” films, and his thoughts on superhero storytelling in general.
But obviously, the focus is on “Invincible,” his superhero coming-of-age tale that follows Mark Grayson, the son of the world’s most famous superhero, Omni-Man, that has to figure out how to become a superhero in his own right in a world that isn’t nearly as forgiving as you might see in a Marvel Studios film. Superheroes might save the day, but there will be blood and chaos if it’s not done right.
“It’s very much about that transition from adolescents to adulthood, where you’re like, ‘Wait a minute, getting to drive, getting to whatever you want, getting to be the master of your own schedule, is stressful and crazy, and I wasn’t prepared for this!’ explained Kirkman. “Only in [‘Invincible’], Mark is a superhero, and the way he experiences this is by getting his face punched in.”
The writer-producer also talked about how the animated series is also just one aspect of “Invincible” that is being developed in Hollywood. Let’s not forget the live-action film that has been in development for years.
“Yeah, it’s still very much in development at Universal,” he said. “It’s something that we’re actively working on. And I think, if anything, doing the animated series is showing us the different things we can accomplish in animation and how we’re going to have to handle them differently in live-action. I think it’s putting us in a more sure footing as we move into live-action.”
Kirkman continued, “When it comes to adapting ‘Invincible’ as a film, the story will be a little more contained than its animated form, just to differentiate the story in some way. The live-action movie and the animated series have been developed almost concurrently. So, both versions were aware of each other along the way and we’re keeping the differences intact as we move forward. They’ll co-exist in a very cool way.”
In addition to “Invincible,” Kirkman shed some light on future projects like his “Dracula” re-imagining called “Renfield,” his Lee Daniels collaboration, “Stealth,” and bit about those Rick Grimes-centric ‘Walking Dead’ films, which he describes as “really exciting” and “a story with a little bit of a different flavor” than the TV series.
You can hear the whole discussion below:
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