Back in 2017, it was announced that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg would write, direct and produce a film adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s long-running Image Comics series Invincible. Four years later, Amazon Prime Video is running its Invincible animated series, and there hasn’t been any major updates about the movie’s progress. However, Kirkman clarified earlier this year that the Invincible movie is still in development, and he has a good idea of how it will move forward.
CinemaBlend’s own Nick Venable recently interviewed Robert Kirkman about the Invincible animated series, which kicked off its first season last week, and among the topics they discussed was how both Invincible projects are being developed simultaneously. Here’s what Kirkman had to say about the movie standing out from the TV show:
Well, Steven [Yeun] wouldn’t mind me saying that, I think, Steven is far too old to play a live-action Mark Grayson. Working with Seth [Rogen] and Evan [Goldberg] on the movie, I think that when the movie comes to be, you will see that there are vast differences. I think that there are many different ways that you can adapt Invincible, and the starting points are going to be very different. And so the kind of story that we’re telling in the film version is much different than the kind of story that we’re telling in the animated version, and you’ll see the two coinciding and coexisting, but being very separate. So I wouldn’t expect any kind of... You know, there mi-i-ight be some casting crossover, I think that would be a fun thing to do. There are a few actors that I think would do really well as the live-action counterpart. But yeah, the two things are very different.
So if you were thinking there was a chance that The Walking Dead star Steven Yeun could also play the teenaged Mark Grayson in live-action, you’d best table those expectations. That said, it sounds like Robert Kirkman is game for some of the actors from the Invincible animated series to take part in the Invincible movie, whether it’s reprising their roles or playing different characters. There hasn’t been any castings announced for the movie yet, but with Seth Rogen still involved with making it, maybe there’s a scenario where he gets to play Allen the Alien again.
More importantly, Robert Kirkman clarified that the Invincible movie will not tell the exact same kind of story that’s unfolding on the Invincible animated series. Yes, both of these projects are relying on the same source material, but the point of an adaptation is to blend new material with the elements from the original story that can be easily translated for a different medium. Plus, Invincible Season 1 is comprised of eight episodes ranging from 42-48 minutes, while the Invincible movie will likely end up being around two or two and a half hours. Obviously the cinematic tale wouldn’t be able to cover as much ground as what’s happening on the small screen, but conversely, it’ll deliver a live-action blockbuster spectacle.
It remains to be seen when we’ll learn more about what’s being planned for the Invincible movie, but at least fans of the property can take comfort knowing it’ll embark down a different creative path and not simply rehash what’s being done in the animated series, though still share similarities. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on the Invincible movie’s progress, and if you’re interested in watching the Amazon show, new episodes drop on Fridays.
