J. Michael Straczynski’s Rising Stars Optioned For Movie

MGM has optioned J. Michael Straczynski's Rising Stars for a feature film treatment, Deadline is reporting. Straczynski will reportedly write the script.

One of the most successful comics/Hollywood crossovers, Straczynski is best known for creating Babylon 5 before doing a number of memorable comics runs. He's worked on Superman, Wonder Woman, and a number of creator-owned projects, although probably his best-remembered work was the lengthy run he did on The Amazing Spider-Man, with artists like John Romita, Jr. and J. Scott Campbell.

Straczynski's Rising Stars centers on a small town where 113 people are born with special powers after a meteor strike. The 24-issue series ran from 1999 until 2005, and along the way was popular enough to spawn toys, spinoff series, and more.

The comic explored the notion of how a sudden flood of peope with superhuman abilities would change the world, from politics to popular culture. In that way, thematic lines could be drawn to Watchmen, which is why few were surprised when Straczynski was among the big-name creators drawn to DC's Before Watchmen initiative.

Much of Rising Stars revolved around a murder mystery: when some of the "Specials" start to be murdered, their power is seemingly disbursed to the rest of the group. So who's responsible? Why? And how do you stop a murder suspect who has super powers, and is getting more powerful every day?

Rising Stars has always ben discussed as a possible multimedia property, although the similarities between the show and early seasons of Smallville reportedly made it an uphill climb to get into development when the popularity of the comic was at its zenith.

Alex Gartner and Richard Suckle will produce the film for Atlas Entertainment. It isn't clear who will distribute the movie; recent MGM movies have been distributed by Sony (the James Bond franchise) and Warner Bros. (Creed).