Having saved Preacher from years of development hell, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg quickly set their sights their next Garth Ennis adaptation, and it was announced a couple of months back that Amazon had given the greenlight to a series of their interpretation of ultraviolent cult favourite comic The Boys. This week brought with it the news that casting has begun.
Bagging roles in the 8-episode series are Erin Moriarty (Captain Fantastic, Blood Father), Antony Starr (American Gothic), Dominique McElligott (The Last Tycoon), Chace Crawford (Gossip Girl), Jessie T. Usher (Survivor’s Remorse) and Nathan Mitchell (iZombie).
Ennis and Darick Robertson’s brutal, bitterly funny satire ran for 72 issues from 2008-2012, published initially by Wildstorm and then by Dynamite Entertainment. Mixing riotous comedy with bleak cynicism and all-out obscenity, it is set in a time when superheroes have become a reckless liability, abusing the freedom afforded by their celebrity. A CIA squad of thugs and blue-collar criminals, nicknamed The Boys, are put together to keep them in line and eliminate them when necessary. If you’ve never read it, do yourself a favour and sort that out ASAP.
As was the case with Preacher, an adaptation of The Boys has been struggling to get off the starting blocks for a long time, with both Columbia and Paramount having expressed interest over the last few years.
Rogen and Goldberg are developing the series with Supernatural creator Eric Kripke, who is also writing based on Ennis’ graphic novel. Rogen and Goldberg are also set to direct.
The project hails from Sony Pictures TV Studios, which will co-produce with Amazon, and Neal H. Moritz’s studio-based Original Films.
Words: Kevan Farrow (@KevanX)
