Taika Waititi To Direct Adaptation Of Classic Comic The Incal
Taika Waititi is a busy man. At the time of this writing, the director is currently hard at work on "Thor: Love and Thunder," which will see him return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to give everyone's favorite hammer-wielding Norse god another fantastical outing. However, the New Zealander hasn't forgotten about his low-key comedic roots either, as he's also helming "Next Goal Wins," an underdog sports comedy about the American Samoan soccer team trying to compete at the Fifa World Cup. Who knows what's happening with his long-delayed live-action "Akira" remake, but as far as we know, it's still a work in progress. Similarly, he's supposedly directing a "Star Wars" film, but it remains to be seen when he'll get around to that.
With so many projects on the horizon, no one would blame Waititi for wanting to chill out and enjoy the fruits of his labor for a while, but where's the fun in that? It already seems that he's lining up his next feature to be an adaptation of the cult classic comic book "The Incal," according to The Hollywood Reporter. If everything presses forward according to plan, the movie will see him return to the comic book realm for another sweeping space opera. Just don't expect this one to be like his contributions to the MCU; "The Incal" is a very different beast.
The Incal will bring an Alejandro Jodorowsky comic to the screen
Film fans primarily know Alejandro Jodorowsky for surreal arthouse pictures like "El Topo," "The Holy Mountain," and an unproduced "Dune" adaptation that would have been nothing like David Lynch and Denis Villeneuve's interpretations of the classic sci-fi novel. However, back in the 1970s he co-created a comic book series called "The Incal" with the late, great artist Moebius.
"The Incal" centers around John Difool, a private detective who stumbles upon a mystical artifact which forces him on a journey to save the universe. In true space opera fashion, he's joined by a ragtag group of heroes, including a kind-hearted seagull with the power of speech. Like the rest of Jodorowsky's work, "The Incal" explores deep spiritual themes and mystical symbolism, but Waititi's odd sense of humor should complement the material.
Waititi's movie adaptation will see him re-team with frequent collaborator Jemaine Clement, who will help him pen the script along with Peter Warren. No studio or streaming service is attached to the project yet, but Humanoids — the company that published the comics — wants to see a completed script before they decide which entity they're going into business with.
The good news, however, is that Humanoids officials are happy with Waititi's vision for "The Incal" so far. "We already have something very substantial, and it's a complicated book. It's vast," Humanoids CEO Fabrice Giger told THR. "We love the way he approached it."