Kick-Ass and Kingsman creator Mark Millar is planning to write his own Superman and Batman comics when those characters enter the public domain in less than a decade, while he also wants to make movies separate to DC and Warner Bros.
Hollywood is facing an ongoing crisis concerning copyright expiring on major characters, meaning anyone can have a crack at some pretty big IPs.
Horror has been active in this area, with the likes of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, and an early version of Mickey Mouse all entering the public domain, and spawning the likes of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, and Screamboat.
The comic book industry is also facing a headache in the next decade, as copyright on both Superman and Batman is set to expire, and writer Mark Millar is planning to take advantage.
Mark Millar is paying an artist $250k to work on his Superman comic
In an interview with the Thinking Critical show, Mark Millar was asked about Superman entering the public domain in 2034, and revealed that he has big plans for that event.
“It’s eight years in January,” says Millar. “I’m going to use three artists and I’ve put two of them under contract already. We’ll launch in January 2034.
“One of the artists needs a long time because he’s going to do a 12 issue run and I’m going to start him in four years time and he’s going to get a quarter of a million dollars up front to draw this thing. Before we get a single sent in, he’s under contract already and I’ll start writing it in about three years time, and we’ll have it in January 2034.
“The other two guys I’ve spoken to informally, but we’ll get them under contract in a couple of years, too. So, I’m totally serious about it. And I’ll do Batman the following year.”
Lex Luthor and Mr Mxyzptlk are the villains
Millar even knows who his antagonists will be in that first run: “The only two characters I’m going to use are [Lex] Luthor and Mr Mxyzptlk, because they were both created in the first couple of years, so you’ve got access to them by the end of the second year.”
He also knows who he definitely won’t be using: “Brainiac, no way. You have to wait 25 more years for Brainiac. But to be honest, all the other ones you can live without. You know, you don’t need Bizarro. You don’t need Toyman or Prankster or anything.
“Luther is the big one, and otherwise, I’m just going to create lots of new Superman villains. That’s that’s my plan.
Superman and Batman movies will follow
That plan is far-reaching, with Millar adding: “2034 to 2039 – I’m going to completely exploit all the DC characters with the best artists. I’m going to steal the best artists from Marvel and DC and do the DC characters with them. I just like causing trouble.”
While he also has celluloid ambitions that don’t involve either DC or Warner Bros.
“I’ve got an entirely new way of doing Superman; like an entirely new way of doing it,” Millar reveals. “I’ve got it all blocked out. I’ve got the whole thing planned. And I want to do movies of it as well, coz it’ll be public domain. So there’s no reason we can’t do it at another studio. So yeah, we’re going to hit it hard.”
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