Prophet: Jake Gyllenhaal To Star in Sam Hargrave’s Adaptation

It’s looking likely Jake Gyllenhaal will be John Prophet. ComicBook.com can confirm the Spider-Man: Far From Home star is in final talks to star in the live-action adaptation of Rob Liefeld’s classic Prophet independent comic. Furthermore, we can reveal Extraction helmer Sam Hargrave is also near finalizing a deal to board the project as director. 

“It’s been a goal of ours to work with Jake and Sam for quite some time, so we’re very excited to finally be collaborating with them on this unique, action-packed genre film,” said Studio 8 CEO Jeff Robinov. “I’m looking forward to seeing what they envision for bringing this story to life – a story we’re sure will stand out in the comic book world as a powerful, emotionally charged and visually distinctive film.”

The adaptation will likely be the third film on Hargrave’s resume as director as it’s expected he’ll begin filming it after work on Extraction 2 for Netflix is complete. First appearing in Image’s Youngblood, John Prophet was once a homeless man who volunteered for experimentation by a time-traveling scientist from the future. The news was confirmed by THR.

The script has been in active development by Arrow creator Marc Guggenheim.

“John Prophet’s story takes a huge twist, a huge turn and Marc is super talented,” Liefeld previously told ComicBook.com. “As you know when they told me that we had secured him, Marc was in very competitive position. A lot of people wanted to hire Marc and take his services away, and Studio 8, who’s producing the movie, stepped up and secured Marc. When people ask me why I’m so excited about him. Look, the modern comic book television show was formed by Arrow….That show begat Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, you know, on and on and on.

He added, “Marc gets it. He came from comics. Obviously very talented guy. Super excited that he’s on board. Super excited that we can share it with the world now. ‘Cause now, like I said, Marc and I had several meetings. He walked me through his vision of the movie. And here’s what I’ll tell you. I don’t have to prepare some sort of apology speech or go on an apology tour. I can tell you, I’m excited! Marc is doing great work. And I’m very hopeful. Prophet’s got a big sci-fi spectacle. It’s very much science fiction, but he has super powers like so many people.”

The character often finds himself in conversation amongst the most “’90s” comic characters ever created after his debut in 1992. Starting off a supporting character in Youngblood, Prophet went on to have four separate solo series. The last — Prophet: Earth War — ended in 2016.

Prior to the character’s official launch, Liefeld said drew inspiration from both Gene Roddenberry and Steven Spielberg for the character, wanting to create Prophet more futuristic than some of his comparable work with Marvel at the time.

At one point in 1995, Sony’s TriStar acquired the rights to produce a live-action Prophet  film with Liefeld serving as executive producer, but the studio ended up shuttering the project. There’s no active timetable for the latest stab at a feature.

The film is currently in development at Studio 8 and has yet to be shopped around to studios or streamers for distribution.