Earlier this year Frank Miller announced that he was not planning on there being any more film adaptations of his work that weren’t directed by him. This brought question to the minds of Miller fans everywhere. While we all know Miller was involved in the creation of Sin City, he’s a comic book artist, not a filmmaker. Wouldn’t it be better to leave the adaptation of his work to the film medium to those who know how to do it? The answer appears to be yes.
Following their tremendous success with 300, Warner Brothers has managed to get Miller to let them option Ronin, the story of a disgraced samurai from the 13th century, reborn into New York about sixty years from now. The ronin battles with a demon who wields a mystical sword.
The big news is not only that WB has optioned the film, but Miller isn’t directing it. The announcement through Variety is that Stomp the Yard filmmaker Sylvain White will be heading up the project.
Wait a minute, the director of the urban musical Stomp the Yard and the direct to video I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer has gotten his hands on a Miller project? Not only that, but this isn’t exactly the breaking news we’re being led to believe it is. In fact, we reported White’s attachment to the project in February. So I guess the news isn't the director, but the studio... big whoop.
Now I’m no fortune teller, but I can pretty much guarantee that this means at least a year’s worth of bitching from Miller that nobody can direct his stories. Sadly, unlike Sin City and 300, he might even be right this time.
