Can’t get enough of Stan Lee’s books or the movies they’ve engendered? Marvel fans, find a seat so you don’t faint from the excitement — Lee’s latest project takes the form of a long-form audiobook for Audible. Because the only thing better than reading a book is having it read to you, right?
It’ll certainly be a departure from Lee’s visually-driven previous publications, but the legendary creative will doubtless find a way to imbue his sense of adventure into the new audiobook. The writer will be working with Ryan Silbert, the producer behind God of Love, as well as Luke Lieberman, the author of Red Sonja, as part of the project. Lee is slated to narrate the introduction of the new novel, and will thereby introduce listeners to a new universe that is being described as “‘Mr. Robot’ set in a John Hughes world.”
“When Audible came to us with the idea of doing this as an audio project first, I thought it was inspired,” Lee, the chairman and chief creative officer of POW! Entertainment, told Variety. “The story is set within a culture of cutting-edge technology, so it deserves to be brought to audiences in a medium that truly captures the spirit of the universe, yet allows the listener to create their own, unique, mental picture of the story. What Audible is doing is truly groundbreaking, but it is also bringing us back to our roots.”
While it’s unclear whether or not we’ll ever see the resulting story in print, if it proves popular, it certainly could serve as a logical next step (as could a movie adaptation).
“We are thrilled to bring the Stan Lee universe to life and to listeners in this unprecedented, written to the audio format endeavor with POW! Entertainment,” said Audible chief content officer Andy Gaies. “The immersive audio experience will excite and exhilarate all fans of Stan Lee’s work.”
Production on the new book is slated to begin soon.
“The ‘what if?’ questions surrounding emerging tools and know-how are the context of our story,” Silbert and Lieberman teased. “We aim to blend this with an accessible human narrative to deliver the experience you expect from Stan Lee — where street level heroes uncover global conflicts much bigger than they ever imagined.”
