Eight Billion Genies Comic to Be Adapted Into a Franchise at Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios has found its next comic book series to adapt into a big-budget franchise. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Charles Soule and Ryan Browne's Image Comics series Eight Billion Genies had its rights picked up by Amazon, with the studio looking to capitalize on the creator-owned series with a movie, TV series, and more. Soule and Browne are attached to the film as executive producers, though no directors or writers have been chosen yet. The Eight Billion Genies comic is an eight-issue miniseries that launched its first issue in May, with Issue #2 on sale today.
The series features a world where every single person is given a genie to grant one wish. On the surface that sounds amazing, but when you factor in eight billion genies and wishes all being granted at the same time, chaos is sure to unfold. As its description states, "All hell breaks loose, in a very entertaining way…and that's just the beginning."
Eight Billion Genies would be the latest comic book adaptation from Amazon Studios. The company already has the very successful The Boys, which is currently streaming its third season, along with the animated Invincible from The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. A college-based spinoff of The Boys is already in the works, and the live-action Paper Girls adaptation from Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang is set to debut on July 29th.
Soule's credits include works at Marvel and DC, where he's penned fan-favorite runs on She-Hulk and Daredevil, along with killing perhaps the most popular X-Man in the Death of Wolverine event series. His She-Hulk work with artist Javier Pulido has been touted as inspiration for the upcoming She-Hulk: Attorney at Law series at Disney+. Soule has been one of the primary writers on Marvel's Star Wars comics, with his 100th issue coming in Star Wars #25. Browne has also worked for both Marvel and DC, with his credits including his creator-owned series God Hates Astronauts. Soule and Browne have also collaborated on the Curse Words fantasy series at Image as well.
"STAR WARS #25 includes four all-new stories set during the runs of prior series I worked on for Marvel – DARTH VADER, OBI-WAN & ANAKIN, POE DAMERON and RISE OF KYLO REN. These are all moments I would have put into those original comics, but either I didn't have space or hadn't thought of them," Soule told ComicBook.com regarding Star Wars #25. "The original creative teams came back for most of those, which was really meaningful for me – and many of the variant covers for the issues include people I've worked with as well. The Vader and Obi-Wan stories have the same title, for reasons that will become clear. The Poe story is sad but hopefully kind of lovely, and the Kylo story is a beat I know must have happened. Can't wait to hear what the fans think!"