Fans of production companies that take their names very seriously, rejoice! J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot is, at long last, telling a story about an actual robot. And not just any robot, but the steampunk Forrest Gump of robots, a little mechanical guy who managed to fight alongside Teddy Roosevelt and Lawrence of Arabia, make silent movies and somehow participate in World War I. If you're not sure how you missed him in history class, don't worry-- he's the creation of Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett in the graphic novel Boilerplate: History's Mechanical Marvel, which Abrams (as a producer) and his crew will be adapting for film.
According to THR, which broke the news, Boilerplate, started life as an online pitch 11 years ago, back when everyone apparently believed everything they read on the Internet and several people started to think Boilerplate was real. The novel itself was only published last year, and based on what you can see at the publisher's website, it's more like a trumped-up textbook than what you'd expect from a typical graphic novel. In short, it's super cool. . No idea how they'll be able to recreate that effect on film short of making a silent, black-and-white opus, but those crazy Abrams kids, they're full of good ideas.
Watch a trailer for the graphic novel below (yes, we have those now) to get a better idea of what to expect-- sprawling history, inspiring music, all with a sci-fi twist.
