Apple has greenlit Liminal, a sci-fi action-thriller based on the graphic novel Telepaths by Eisner Award winner J. Michael Straczynski, Steve Epting, and Brian Reber, published by AWA Studios.
As announced by Deadline, the new sci-fi thriller will star Vanessa Kirby (Fantastic Four) and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Wonder Man), and will be directed by Louis Leterrier (Fast X).
The new film’s plot has not been revealed, but in Telepaths by J. Michael Straczynksi (The Amazing Spider-Man, Thor) and Steve Epting (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), published in collection in 2022, an electromagnetic disturbance results in the sudden awakening of telepathic powers in a tenth of the Earth’s population.
In the moments after the world comes to grip with this development, newly-telepathic Boston police find themselves sent against a wrongly convicted prisoner who becomes a hero and leader of other telepaths trying to escape a world in which their powers will make them targets. Both are heroes of their own story, and the future may depend on whether or not trust can be found between them.
J. Michael Straczynksi, the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS, is of course no stranger to the world of film and TV, well known as the creator of the standout SF TV series Babylon 5 and Sense8.
“For AWA, this is an exciting next step for a story that began on the page and is now moving forward with an extraordinary team behind it,” says US publisher AWA Studios in a short statement.
“Zach Studin will produce for AWA Studios, with Kevin Walsh producing for The Walsh Company. The project is written by Justin Rhodes, with J. Michael Straczynski, Steve Epting, and Brian Reber serving as executive producers.
“This is a major milestone for AWA and a powerful example of what we are building: bold, original stories that can grow across formats and reach audiences around the world.”
J. Michael Straczynski has worked in every medium except poetry, at which he sucks. His film credits include five films that collectively earned over a billion dollars: Changeling for Clint Eastwood, Thor for Kenneth Branagh, Ninja Assassin, Underworld Awakening, and World War Z. He has written over 300 produced episodes and seven TV movies, and has been a creator/show-runner for such series as Babylon 5, Jeremiah, Crusade, and, most recently, Sense8 for Netflix.
He recently wrote a timely article about how one can write comic book TV shows and movies, and other genres, that should appeal to both fans of particular characters and a larger audience (free access).
“Successful comic book movies and mainstream movies share one key trait, they understand that drama isn’t about how many characters you’re fighting, or the scale of the thing, it’s about what William Faulkner called ‘the human heart in conflict with itself.’”
His comics have sold over 13 million issues, including stints on Marvel’s The Amazing Spider-Man, Thor, Fantastic Four, and others. His Superman: Earth One graphic novels for DC Comics consistently appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List. His creator-owned titles include Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Rising Stars.
Synthetics, a series published by Dark Horse, in which Earth is dying and soon the human race will be unable to survive, is due for release in collection on 23rd June (AmazonUK Affiliate Link).
He currently heads the creative council for the comics publishing company AWA (Artists, Writers and Artisans) and his first title, The Resistance, debuted in 2020, followed by several more titles. He was nominated for a Best Screen Writing BAFTA (British Academy Award) for Changeling, and has received the Eisner Award, the Inkpot Lifetime Achievement Award, the Hugo Award (twice), the SDCC International Icon Award, the Saturn Award, the Ray Bradbury Award, the Christopher Foundation Award, the E Pluribus Unum Award from the American Cinema Foundation, two technical Emmy’s for Babylon 5, the GLAAD Media Award, and dozens of others.
His autobiography, Becoming Superman: My Journey From Poverty to Hollywood, was published in hardcover by HarperCollins Voyager in 2019 to glowing reviews in the Washington Post, New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, the Los Angeles Review of Books and the Wall Street Journal. He holds two Bachelor Degrees, one in Clinical Psychology and another in Sociology, and teaches Advanced Scriptwriting in the MFA program at San Diego State University.
Finally, as a former journalist, he has written over 500 published articles while working for the The San Diego Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, TIME Inc, Writer’s Digest, The Daily Californian and other newspapers and magazines.
Steve Epting made his name with Marvel fans with an eminent fifty issue run drawing The Avengers in the 1990s. He has contributed art for X-Factor, The X-Men, Superman, Aquaman, Fantastic Four, and New Avengers. Along with writer Ed Brubaker, Epting drew a critically-acclaimed run on Captain America, co-creating the Winter Soldier, the character from the smash hit movie Captain America The Winter Soldier.
Epting re-teamed with Brubaker on the smash hit Velvet, and provided the art for the relaunch of Batwoman.
• You can read the full Deadline news story here
• Check out Telepaths at AWA Studios | Series Preview
• Telepaths is available from all good bookshops |ISBN: 978-1953165305 | AmazonUK Digital Affiliate Link |
• Follow J. Michael Straczynski on Patreon | Substack | BlueSky
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Film, Other Worlds, US Comics
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