As reported by The Tracking Board, Fox is in the early stages of development on a new movie based on Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s comic book series that featured a long list of literary figures as heroes and villains in a globe-spanning adventure set in the Victorian era. The series was turned into a big-budget movie in 2003 starring Sean Connery that was both universally panned and a box-office disappointment, and reportedly prompted Connery to retire from acting.
The planned reboot of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen currently has I, Robot and Chronicle producer John Davis attached, and is searching for a director.
While the 2003 film took significant liberties with its source material, the original story penned by Moore had British adventurer Allan Quatermain teaming up with Captain Nemo, The Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll (and Mr. Hyde), and Dracula protagonist Mina Harker to foil a plot by the villain Fu Manchu. The series later expanded its reach to include characters and storylines from the literary worlds of H.G. Wells (including The War of the Worlds) and H.P. Lovecraft, as well as characters like James Bond, Mary Poppins, and even Harry Potter.
Several series penned by Moore have found their way to the big screen over the years with varying results, including V for Vendetta, Watchmen, and From Hell.
There’s no timeline on the project at this point, and with Moore famously condemning (and even outright cursing) Hollywood adaptations of his work — primarily due to that 2003 film — this will certainly be an interesting project towatch.
