Go into your bedroom, move that picture from the wall, open up that safe and remove your most prized and irreplaceable possession, your spoon, so that you can celebrate this news in the most sensible way possible. Because yes, after 15 long years, The Tick is finally headed in a direction that may result in an all-new season of episodes, as Amazon has stepped up and ordered a pilot for the superhero comedy’s reboot, which has already started to build its cast.
Let’s keep things focused on the good news for the time being, although there are disappointments to follow. The pilot will be written and executive produced by Ben Edlund, the mad genius who created both the comic book and the 2001 Fox series. Having him on board here is key, since it’s his zany sense of humor and storytelling that made The Tick such a fan favorite character to begin with. Interestingly, the pilot is set to be directed by Wally Pfister, the Transcendence helmer who worked as Christopher Nolan’s director of photography for most of his films, including the Dark Knight trilogy. That guy definitely knows how to make a superhero project look good.
And now we dip into the sad news: the two actors that audiences know best as The Tick and Arthur, Patrick Warburton and David Burke, will not be starring in this reimagining. (That probably means we won't be seeing Ron Perlman's Fiery Blaze return, either.) Warburton, beyond all of his voice roles, is currently starring in NBC’s comedy Crowded, though he is set to take on an executive producer role here, according to Deadline. The search is currently on for a new leading man – make it perfect, people! – but both Arthur and another character have been cast.
The moth-ish sidekick Arthur Everest will be played by Griffin Newman, who is currently a regular on HBO’s music scene drama Vinyl. Valorie Curry, best known for roles on The Following and House of Lies, is set to play Arthur’s sister Dot, who deeply cares for her brother and worries about him.
In this iteration of The Tick, the titular blue hero is dealing with memory loss when he teams up with Arthur in order to stop evil and let justice prevail. Arthur, meanwhile, has been running around and talking about how the city is in danger of being overtaken by evil, and people consider him a schizophrenic before The Tick comes around. No sign of whether or not this will be a darker version of the material that was planned in the past, or if it’ll resemble the more cartoonish original live-action series.
Amazon, which has been kicking this Tick project around at least since 2014, would be wise to add a cult favorite like this to its original programming lineup. Though not everything the service puts together finds big success – I’m sadly looking at the one-and-done Mad Dogs when I say that – Amazon has landed some big critical hits with Mozart in the Jungle, Transparent and more. Pair The Tick with that Jean-Claude Van Damme comedy and my funny bone will reach its tickle quota.
Expect to see more casting for The Tick soon.
