Why I Don't Care If We Never Get A Live-Action Invincible Movie

Invincible Season 4 is underway, and as we inch closer to the war with the Viltrumites, fans are eagerly wanting updates on what's next in the Invincible universe. So once again, it's time to ask for updates on the live-action movie and where it's at, and I'm finally at a point where I can publicly express how much I don't care.

Even at a time when upcoming superhero movies don't come along as much as they used to, I'm good if we never see a live-action Invincible movie. I've had some time to think about this, so hear me out, and trust me when I say, this isn't anything that we need.

What Robert Kirkman Said About The Invincible Movie

The Invincible live-action movie was first announced back in 2017, long before the Prime Video series ever premiered. Now, after sparse updates over the years, Robert Kirkman finally gave a new update to ScreenRant on its progress:

It's been nine years, and the Invincible movie is still a work in progress. That said, Kirkman noted that the main focus is the animated series. To that, I say great! I'm 100% ok with where things are currently, and if we never see a live-action version of Invincible in theaters, that's completely fine with me.

The Animated Series Already Does A Great Job Adapting The Source Material

When it comes to animated shows, you really have to hand it to Invincible. An hour-long animated series is rare for a reason because, as Robert Kirkman has said, they're pushing the limits of animation. The fact that the series is four seasons in under this format is impressive, and something unprecedented in superhero television.

To me, it feels like the perfect format to tell the story. Many generations grew up watching superhero shows in the '90s, which is what drew me to Invincible in the first place. This series feels like the natural evolution for me to watch as someone who grew up watching Justice League, Batman Beyond and other classic animated hero shows.

It's also worth noting that Invincible regularly brings to life scenes and settings I can't imagine would look as cool in any other format. The recent episode that centered around Hell, for example, would likely cost a production much more to make and look less convincing than the episode that was released. As such, it just feels like Invincible was destined to be a comic retold through animation and no other format.

Invincible's Story Is Too Big To Be Told In Movies

The problem with making an Invincible movie is that I fail to see how a serialized story of this magnitude could be properly told in an average movie runtime. Of course, the obvious solution would be sequels, but we're talking years of production time on yet another movie to effectively pick up the story where it last left off.

For this to work, the story has to be trimmed somewhere. I would suspect the reason it's taking so long for the first live-action movie to happen is because writers and producers are struggling in how to encapsulate so much content and tell an entertaining story that doesn't deviate too far from the source material.

Making an Invincible movie isn't like adapting Batman or Superman. Those latter characters have the name recognition to where stories can be crafted around specific villains and past comics, and people go in generally knowing what to expect. While the comic and show have been around for a while, I would wager a bulk of mainstream audiences still don't know much about Invincible the hero or any of his supporting characters. There's a lot of ground to cover, and I'm not even sure 3 hours would be enough time to fill someone with zero knowledge in on this story and why they should continue to be invested in it.

The Most Obvious Arc To Tackle Would Be When Mark Gets His Powers

As mentioned, I'm not sure a casual audience is as informed on the story of Mark Grayson and the world of Invincible. As such, the first movie would almost certainly have to be an origin story, meaning it'd cover the murder of the Guardians and Omni-Man revealing his true nature as a Viltrumite.

In the ideal scenario, the first movie is a success. Unfortunately, the story largely moves away from Mark and Omni-Man's dynamic and puts them on two different story paths. I can't help but imagine so many audiences would be let down by a sequel in which these two hardly interact for quite some time.

For those who watch the television show, it's the stories in between that keep us interested in the overall story. Unfortunately, I think much of those captivating stories about the Viltrumites, the Guardians and various rogues that plague Earth would be tossed aside largely. I see how the first movie could play out, but I am unsure of what the path forward would be afterwards for these reasons.

I'd Be Up For A Live-Action Invincible Series

Time is a factor in all of these points I've made, which has left me to ask, why not make Invincible a live-action series? With The Boys ending on Amazon, there is an opening for another violent hero show to step up in its place. Of course it would compete with the animated series, but considering the animated one is so far ahead at this point, I don't imagine that would be a problem.

Plus, if the Harry Potter trailer is any example, streamers are not giving up on the idea of making a mega show with their most-coveted IPs. Imagine what an Invincible live-action series would look like with a similar budget. Plus, the show would be allotted the time to tell the story in a way a movie could not. So to me, it's a no-brainer what direction these live-action talks should shift to.

We'll see what happens with the Invincible movie in due time. Until then, new episodes of the animated series pop up on Prime Video on Wednesdays, and if you aren't caught up, now would be a terrific time to catch up.