Mark Millar is a controversial figure in the world of comics. With two of his comic book series (Kick-Ass and Wanted) getting glossy, star-studded movie adaptations, some comic fans have accused Millar of being more interested in making movies than books, and only doing the latter to get into the former. Millar's latest move at self-promotion further supports this claim as Heat Vision has revealed a teaser clip for Millar's latest comic series Supercrooks. Directed by Timecrimes helmer Nacho Vigalando, the video below sets up the world of Supercrooks, where a batch of supervillains decide to steer clear of an America overpopulated by caped crusaders and instead head to Europe.
Supercrooks centers on a band of superpowered thieves who decide to rob a retired American supervillain in his Spanish villa. In the mix there will be two cage-fighters, a pair of brothers, the protagonist's nagging girlfriend who is a former supervillain tired of the game, and his best friend, a former supercrook turned real estate agent.
The first issue will hit in March, and already Millar is shopping a movie version with a script penned by himself and Vigalando, who is attached to direct, with Wanted producer Marc Platt lined up to produce. With pre-orders for Supercrooks already exceeding the pre-order numbers for Kick-Ass and Wanted's books, it seems Millar may have another hit on his hands. But will it translate into a movie? He certainly thinks so, pitching the concept as, "a supervillain story done like a Guy Ritchie movie—a sort of big, over the top heist story done like Lock, Stock or Oceans 11, but with cracking new super-villains and interesting powers," as he told Comic Book Resources.
Style isn't the only element Millar's stealing from his movie inspirations. Like in the Ocean movies, Millar's anti-heroes will be crooks but not menacing villains. That role will go to their victim, a "real bastard they're in Spain to rob." [Emphasis his.] Millar went on to insist the European backdrop would make his book unique, adding, "District 9 was an invasion movie like Independence Day, but setting it in South Africa gave it a slightly different feel." I'll allow Millar's willful misreading of District 9 to speak for itself.
According to Millar, Vigalando is slated to shoot his next project, Windows, this summer –when Millar's recently insisted Kick-Ass 2 will go into production. If all goes according to Millar's hopes, Supercrooks could shoot by year's end. But that's a big if.
