As someone who has been on board with the animated Invincible series that's streamable with a Prime subscription, I'm all about seeing the franchise receive the live-action treatment. The series (which is adapted from a comic of the same name) has been successful, but updates on the upcoming superhero movie have been sparse. Fortunately, franchise creator Robert Kirkman recently shared an update on its status, which should give anyone concerned some hope that this movie will see the light of day.
Robert Kirkman recently shared an update on the Invincible movie while speaking with The Direct. Updates on the film have been few and far between since it was confirmed in 2017 that Kirkman would team up with Seth Rogen and others for the flick. Movies that remain in the works that long without updates are known to be caught in "development hell" and can take forever to move forward, but the creator's comments suggest that progress is moving along:
It's still in development. We're still working with Universal. You know, the show is going so well. I think the movie absolutely has to be perfect. And so it's taking a lot of time, like getting the pieces aligned and getting everything to work so that we can come out and make it as good as it can possibly be. So it's been in development for a long time, and it's probably going to be in development for a while longer.
I'm not surprised to hear that Robert Kirkman wants to make a live-action adaptation as great as it can be. The wait for Invincible Season 2 was long as well, but that was mainly because he and the crew were also working to ensure that it was worthy of its predecessor and the source material. While there were some complaints from fans about splitting the season up and stretching it out, reviews were generally positive.
CinemaBlend's Corey Chichizola had thoughts on the premiere.
But will the Invincible movie survive long enough to find an audience when it is finally ready? It's safe to say the mainstream appetite for superhero projects in Hollywood is waning, with even the previously rampant list of upcoming Marvel movies slowing down. So I can't help but wonder if by the time Universal and Robert Kirkman are ready to move forward with production, people will still be as thrilled to see Omni-Man brought to life.
It's a question worth pondering but, as grittier superhero shows like The Boys and Peacemaker have shown, there is an appetite for more violent offerings in the genre. If there's one thing that Invincible is good at, it's showcasing the ultra-violence that people with superpowers can be capable of. I'd even argue that the series can be more violent than a modern franchise like Mortal Kombat, which is saying something.
Uncertainty about the state of the genre aside, I'm eager to see what Robert Kirkman and co. are cooking up. I also can't wait to find out which young Hollywood star will eventually play Mark Grayson. Of course, it'll probably be a while before the film hits the casting stage of production. Kirkman joked that development could take so long Timothée Chalamet could play Omni-Man, but let's hope that is not the case.
