Matthew Vaughn Considering Adaptation of 'The Golden Age'

Matthew Vaughn appears to have a type.

Type of film that is. He’s currently hard at work editing X-Men: First Class for Fox, but Deadline is reporting that the director is ready to jump straight back into the superhero genre with an adaptation of Jonathon Ross’ as-of-yet unpublished comic book titled The Golden Age.

This is one for the comic fans.

The story revolves around a group of elderly superheroes who reside in the same retirement home. They’re called back into action by their grandchildren when the children’s middle-aged parents start lousing things up. The title refers to the Golden Age of comic books when characters such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Captain America first appeared.

Apparently Vaughn has a pretty golden wish list in terms of the actors he wants to take the lead in the film: Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, and Clint Eastwood. Now that would really be something. Even if he doesn’t get his dream actors, I have to admit that the high concept alone has me ready to wait in line to see it. According to the article, Vaughn is not certain if he will direct the film or act only as a producer.

The script isn’t complete, and the  comic book hasn’t seen the light of day, but if X-Men: First Class lives up to promise of its recently released trailer, The Golden Age may just be a sure thing.

Kick Ass 2 Comic Preview

Pretty cool. Kick-Ass 2 is going to be released next week—that’s three Mark Millar books being published at the same time (watch out Bendis!). Kick-Ass 2 is the (not too) long-awaited sequel to the hit mini-series (and modest) film in which teenage high schooler Dave Lizeskie decides to don a costume and do some super heroing. Before he knows it, he’s an internet sensation and finds himself fighting alongside A-List vigilantes Big Daddy and Hit-Girl, a father/daughter duo who play against all the rules. Artist John Romita Jr. reteams with Millar, which should bring a cohesiveness for fans of the first series.

I hadn’t read the first Kick-Ass until the after the film was released—I was really jonesing for another Hit-Girl experience. After putting the book down, I thought, “That’s a first… the movie was better than the book.” Not exceptionally, but Director Matthew Vaughn, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman, took the source material and toned it down in small but important ways. It will be interesting to pick up this book from the beginning to see if Millar pushes the envelope more than the last. I’m not sure how he could, but he tends to find a way.

I’m reserving my copy today (and suggest you do too) because this book is reportedly already sold out. Thank goodness for second-printings.

Read the exclusive preview of Kick Ass 2: Balls to the Wall at Comic Book Resources:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=6670&disp=table

Thank You Sir, May I Have Another: Is Kick-Ass 2 Happening?

If you’re waiting to enjoy Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall (the tentative title) in a movie theater, you may have to bring a copy of the comic book with you to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, because it doesn’t sound like a movie is coming out any time soon.

While nothing is official about the fate of the sequel, Director Matthew Vaughn definitely has his hands full helming X-Men: First Class. In the past few weeks the cast has been interviewed and asked about the status of a follow-up to the much loved (somewhat critically maligned) Mark Millar/John Romita, Jr. adaptation.

On September 30th, Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass) told the following to CinemaBlend:
"Mark Millar and John Romita are just writing, possibly writing, the comic book. It’s kind of in Mathew wall court really, and he’s doing X-Men. I think it’s something we might come back to later."

Johnson’s thoughts on the project didn’t seem too dire. However, on October 4th, Chloe Moretz (Hit-Girl) spoke with Collider:
“Yeah, I’d totally love to be Hit Girl again, but I don’t know about Kick-Ass 2. Everyone’s like, ‘It’s just been announced!,’ but I’m like, ‘No, it hasn’t. That’s all rumor.’ I honestly don’t even know anymore. I don’t know anything about a second one. All I know is that there’s a second comic called Balls to the Wall. Hopefully, that will happen.”

Then Lyndsy Fonseca (Katie) expressed the following to Splash Page this weekend at the New York Comic-Con:
"It's going to be a while if it does happen. Everyone's kind of working on other things, and there needs to be more issues of the comic before there's material to do another movie. So wait and see."

Millar seems more optimistic about another big-screen sequel.  He told the following to Splash Page on August 31st:
“We’re probably about nine months away from production starting, at the earliest, because Matthew’s got to do X-Men: First Class."

Let’s hope it does, because Kick-Ass was easily the best comic book movie of the year (sorry Iron Man 2).