A long time ago, long enough that the Sci-Fi Channel was still called just that, Painkiller Jane was an experiment that the network embarked on. Both the TV movie and the hour-long TV series failed to take off, leaving the indie comic without any hope of being adapted. If only Sci-Fi had waited a little longer and cashed in on the buzz from a little movie called Iron Man that would be released only a couple of months after the series took its final bow. As luck would have it, lightning might be striking twice for old Jane, and one of her creators is along for the ride.
MoviePilot caught up with Painkiller Jane co-creator Jimmy Palmiotti as he announced that not only had the script been finished, but a pair of directors have been secured to direct the film. Palmiotti sounded very optimistic, as he gave the following prognosis on where the project needs to be in the near future.
"We are looking for the right people to play the lead and other characters, so that's where the process is right now. Once we find the right lead, things should fall into place pretty quickly."
Now the big reason people are getting excited about the new Painkiller Jane reboot is that Twitter sensations/American Mary directors Jen and Sylvia Soska are going to be in the driver's seat for this adaptation. The twin directors have started to gain a bit of a following on the indie horror circuit after their initial slasher, as well as their support of matters pertaining to gender equality and LGBTQ concerns. This is of particular note as the character of Painkiller Jane is of a bisexual orientation, something that fans of the comic series have been afraid would be lost in a big screen translation.
We've come a long way since the days of the original run of the TV show, which ran in its entirety in the middle of 2007 with Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines star Kristianna Loken in the lead role. If you're interested in checking it out for yourself, we've included the pilot in its entirety below.
Though it doesn't look like the film will be a big budget studio picture, Painkiller Jane looks to be shaping up to be a very important film in the constantly evolving world of comic-to-film adaptations. In a world where female-led hero properties are in serious need of representation, Jen and Sylvia Soska could be the stick of dynamite needed to blow up the female superhero world.
Painkiller Jane is in its early phases of production now, but if The Soskas or Jimmy Palmiotti read the site at all, then perhaps they can be persuaded to take our casting suggestion from earlier this afternoon. For now though, you can see The Soskas work their bloody magic in The ABC's of Death 2, either on VOD (October 2nd) or in limited theaters (October 31st.)
