The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Are Getting a Television… Something

Get ready to be reiminded that the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie was a thing that happened.

20th Century Fox’s television production studio has committed to a “put pilot” adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill‘s 1999 and ongoing comic series about a world where all adventure fiction exists in the same universe and the British government puts together a team of special agents to act in the Empire’s interests. Like most of Moore’s fiction, LoXG is a brilliantly versatile idea that was not without problematic aspects in execution, its future was muddied by issues related to his relationship with DC Comics’, and it’s got a film adaptation that none of the creators signed off on. Except this time, unlike Watchmen or V for Vendetta, the 2003 film adaptation had exactly zero redeeming qualities.

Well, except for the one good decision they made when figuring out what to change from the source material: to not make the Invisible Man a serial child rapist.

But I digress! According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox has committed to a “put pilot” of the adaptation, which means that pretty much guaranteed to air. A put pilot is a particular type of pilot arrangement where the network agrees to air the pilot upon contracting with the production studio or pay some steep penalties. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the pilot will become a whole series, but essentially, we’re going to at least be seeing the League on TV some time soon. Michael Green (Heroes, Smallville, Green Lantern) is the adaptation’s writer/producer and possibly its eventual showrunner, and Erwin Stoff (Constantine, The Matrix, I am Legend) will produce as well.

The thing about a television adaptation of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is that most of the thematic issues I have with it are ones that would never make it into an adaptation for basic television, so all I’m going to ask of this one is that it A) keep Mina Murray (of Bram Stoker’s Dracula) in her original role: as the leader and recruiter of the League, B) try to make Nemo a character that actually has something to do on occasion, and C) do not, under any circumstances, add Tom Sawyer to the lineup.

(via The Hollywood Reporter.)