It's a good time to be a fan of Mark Millar's work if you've been looking for more of it to hit screens – his big deal with Netflix is starting to bear fruit, and a project that has been lingering in development limbo is seeing some forward movement. Joe Cornish is on board to write and direct the adaptation of Starlight for 20th Century Studios.
Created by Millar and artist Goran Parlov, the comic, which was first published by Image in 2013, is a blend of Flash Gordon and The Dark Knight Returns. Its follows a Gordon-like space hero who saved the universe from a diabolical villain 35 years ago, but returned home to Earth to discover no-one believed his tales of derring-do.
Dining on ashes, he shrugged off the disappointment, fell in love and got married. Now, decades later, older and with a family, he’s called back to action when his old rocket shows up with a warning that the enemy has returned...
This one has been in the works since before the comic hit shelves, back when 20th Century Studios still had "Fox" in its name and wasn't part of Disney. In its time, it has seen the likes of Gary Whitta attached to write drafts, while Simon Kinberg remains as a producer. Cornish for his part has circled several potential movies, but hasn't fully locked into a film since The Kid Who Would Be King.