For reasons too many to number in a news post like this, it’s been a pretty interesting century for the film industry, but one fascinating trend that stands out is how the dominos have fallen when it comes to adapting novels and comics and whatnot that were considered to be impossible to film. We made a lengthy comparison between the paths that Lord of the Rings and Dune took to the screen, but just think: in the past decade, John Carter, Cloud Atlas, The Dark Tower, and a whole host of other works have made it to the screen, to say nothing of the full translation of the Marvel Comics universe to the big screen. Hell, there’s even an adaptation of Don Delillo’s White Noise coming to Netflix next year. But the graphic novel publisher Humanoids dropped an announcement earlier on Thursday morning that The Incal, one of the granddaddies of comic-book science fiction that was written decades ago by cult filmmaker genius Alejandro Jodorowsky and drawn by Mœbius (who is up there with Jack Kirby as one of the greatest comic illustrators of all time) and considered impossible to bring to the screen, will be adapted. And it’ll be done by Taika Waititi, as well.
Yes, according to Deadline, the Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Ragnarok director will direct the adaptation — apparently with Jodorowsky’s blessing — and he’ll also co-write the screenplay alongside some of his usual collaborators, Peter Warren (Ghost Team) and Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Concords, What We Do In the Shadows). This is all well and good, but we understand if you’re wondering why The Incal would be so difficult to bring to screen. First, The Incal has an incredible look, which is owed to Mœbius’s impossible-to-replicate style, and one would worry that it might lose something in the translation. Secondly, it’s weird as fuck. Here’s the synopsis, at least as Deadline put it in their article:
“‘The Incal’ is an epic space opera centered on shabby P.I. John Difool, who happens upon a mystical artifact known as the Incal — an object of great power coveted by many factions across the galaxy. As Difool learns of the Incal’s powers and purpose, he — along with a ragtag crew of unlikely cohorts — reluctantly embarks on what begins as an improbable mission to save the universe, and slowly becomes a spiritual journey examining the duality and meaning of existence.”
Yeah, it’s a lot, but it’s also a lot of fun.
To prove that they’re super, super serious and are actually gonna put this motherfucker into production, Humanoids dropped this little documentary-style teaser for the film that was directed by Frank Pavich, best known for making Jodorowsky’s Dune, the hit cult doc about the master filmmaker’s failed attempt to put Dune on screen in the ’70s. This is basically the kind of announcement teaser that a basketball team might use for a uniform reveal or for the debut of a star player, so watch it with that in mind.
Take a look:
No word on when The Incal will finally drop, but we’re pretty interested in where this is all going to go. Perhaps Dune did open additional doors for some weird-ass adaptations of esoteric sci-fi, and, if so, we cannot wait for Rendezvous With Rama whenever someone gets around to making it.