Venom Director Ruben Fleischer to Helm New Comic Adaptation From The Boys Creator

Venom and Uncharted director Ruben Fleischer is dipping back into the world of comic book adaptations once again. On Thursday, it was announced that Fleischer will helm an adaptation of Marjorie Finnegan, Temporal Criminal, a live-action take on the graphic novel of the same name from Garth Ennis and Goran Sudžuka. The movie is being produced alongside AWA Studios, which originally published the graphic novel, as well as LuckyChap Entertainment, which has produced recent hits like Birds of Prey and Promising Young Woman. The script for Marjorie Finnegan will be written by Catya McMullen, who is known for Georgia Mertching is Dead.

In Marjorie Finnegan, Temporal Criminal, all Marj wants to do is race up and down the time-lanes, stealing every shiny-gleamy-pretty-sparkly thing she can lay her hands on. But her larcenous trail draws the beady eye of the Temporal PD, whose number one Deputy Marshall is now hard on her tail— and taking things extremely personally.

“Goran Sudžuka and I are delighted to see Marjorie Finnegan making the move to the big screen,” Ennis said in a statement. “Ruben Fleischer, AWA Studios, LuckyChap Entertainment, and Catya McMullen are just the gang to get it done.”

“Garth Ennis has proven time and time again why he is one of the most original voices in the world of comics,” Fleischer echoed. “I feel so lucky and honored to bring a piece of his to life onscreen.  Add to that the incredibly talented writing of Catya McMullen along with the fine folks at LuckyChap Entertainment and AWA, and this project is the kind of thing dreams are made of. We are poised to make that completely original and amazing time travel franchise the world has been waiting for.”

Why did Ruben Fleischer not direct Venom 2?

After helming Sony’s first film surrounding the titular antihero, Fleischer has not returned for subsequent sequels, which have been helmed by Andy Serkis and Kelly Marcel. While speaking to ComicBook.com‘s Phase Zero podcast earlier this year, Fleischer spoke candidly about the initial critical response to Venom, and how that impacted him creatively.

“The critical reaction, I’m not going to lie, is a bummer just because you work so hard on something,” Fleischer admitted. “And I know, having watched it with audiences, how much they enjoyed it. So, it was a little surprising to me how negative they were. And I do think it’s unwarranted because the audiences, as you said, really loved the film. Otherwise, I don’t think it would’ve been quite the success it was. So, it was disheartening, for sure, that it has this kind of association.” Fleischer did not return for the sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, as he instead went on to work with Sony again for Uncharted.

“Hopefully, over time, people will… There’s plenty of movies that are beloved that, when they came out, were panned by critics,” Fleischer continued. “It’s just unfortunate that RottenTomatoes exists as this aggregate that then, forever, will have an assigned rating to a thing. That being said, it is what it is. And if people like the movie, that’s all I care about. And, hopefully, the same will be true of Uncharted. I made it for the audience. I made it to be a really fun, escapist, action packed adventure. And, at the end of the day, that’s who I made the movie for. And I’ll be proud and excited if fans and audiences love the film.”

Are you excited for the film adaptation of Marjorie Finnegan, Temporal Criminal? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

h/t: Deadline