Last June, mega producer Joel Silver got an itch in desperate need of a scratch. After being introduced to the world of the Carton Network series Ben 10, Silver decided that he wanted to make the property into a live-action blockbuster, learning from the mistakes made from Speed Racer. Well, now he's apparently found the guy that he thinks can give him what he wants.
Albert Torres has been hired by Silver Pictures to write the script for a Ben 10 movie. Torres previous work includes the 2008 dramedy Henry Poole is Here. He also did a rewrite on the script for the live-action remake of Akira. Variety says that the project still doesn't have a distributor, but it's expected that Warner Bros. will sign on due to the close relationship that Silver has had with the studio.
The show follows a teenager named Ben Tennyson who is a normal kid until he discovers a device called the Omnitrix. The device gives him the ability to transform into one of ten different alien creatures, all with their own specific abilities. The show lasted four seasons, running from 2005 to 2007. That series has since had a couple spin-offs, including Ben 10: Alien Force and Ben 10: Ultimate Alien. A new series, titled Ben 10: Omniverse, is scheduled to be aired in September of this year.
It's very easy to see why Joel Silver wants to make this into a live-action movie so badly. In addition to the multiple shows, the series is a marketing gold mine, as they've already made a number of animated films, video games, and toy lines, insuring that there isn't a single kid between the ages of eight and thirteen that doesn't have at least one piece of Ben 10 merchandise on their shelf. It could end up being a good movie, but that's really a secondary part of the plan.
