Groo The Wanderer Animated Adaptation In The Works

Now with forty years of publishing under his belt, the comic book character Groo the Wanderer is headed to the big screen. The Hollywood Reporter brings word that entrepreneur Josh Jones has secured the rights to Sergio Aragonés’ character and will develop an animated feature film through his Did I Err Productions banner. In a statement, Jones said: “I’ve loved Groo the Wanderer since I was eight years old, and to have the honor of bringing the character to on-screen life is, quite literally, a lifelong dream come true. Sergio’s style, the characters, the world, and especially the humor have always appealed to me. I just want to help bring what I’ve loved for so long to the next generation!”

Aragonés added about his character, “He’s a nincompoop who ruins everything. He sinks ships, he destroys buildings….Sadly, comic books have a limited audience. Even a good one with the classic heroes sells only a hundred thousand. Imagine one million people knowing your character! That would be a dream.” Both Jones and Aragonés will executive produce the film with Jones’ Did I Err partner Scott Nocas and Groo writer Mark Evanier. The trade notes that “Projects are being packaged for streaming services and global distribution.”

For those not familiar, the official website for Groo describes him as follows: “A barbarian warrior – Groo is invincible in battle but with an I.Q. three points lower than a boulder.  With his trusty canine sidekick Rufferto, he wanders an ancient land of mystery, magic and mayhem, looking only for a warm place to sleep, a few coins, or a taste of cheese dip. Despite best intentions, Groo usually wreaks havoc everywhere he goes.”

Though a pretty niche property, Groo certainly has his fans around the world including some notable celebrities that have publicly expressed love for him. Avengers: Endgame and Captain America: The Winter Soldier co-director Joe Russo previously shouted out the character as one he’d want to bring in the MCU, sadly it seems he won’t get his chance.

It’s unclear how far along a Groo the Wanderer animated series or film might get into development, or how much interest there might from audiences, but it considering the A-list talent that has expressed a love for it before it probably won’t be hard to for them to get interested parties to pitch.