John Carpenter To Direct ‘Darkchylde,’ See WETA Test Footage
Being as it’s Halloween, what a perfect time to announce thatJohn Carpenter’snext film will be a scary comic book adaptation. He’ll helm the film version ofDarkchylde, based on the popular comics created byRandy Queenabout a young girl named Ariel Chylde who regularly sheds her skin and turns into her deepest, darkest nightmares. Carpenter’s first feature film since 2001,The Ward, recently premiered at Toronto and though he was rumored to be directing Hilary Swank inFangland, it seems likeDarkchyldeis going to be next for the horror master behindHalloween, The Thing, They Live, Christineand more. We’ve got additional details onDarkchyldeas well as a video of WETA test footage after the jump.
Richard Taylor of WETA helped create this movie test footage/trailer for the film a few months ago and it gives a great idea of what this property has to ofter as a feature film. It’s slightly NSFW.
TheDarkchyldecomic books debuted in 1996 and over the next few years, were breakout hits, at one point even outsellingSpider-Man, Superman,andBatman. It’s even been merchandised like those properties with busts, trading cards, trade paperbacks, clothing and more. You can read some of the comics over at theofficial website.
John Carpenter made some pretty lofty comments about the character:
Randy Queen’s hijacked angel, Ariel Chylde, is the best young female character since Laurie Strode in Halloween. Bringing Ariel and her dark mysteries to life should be quite an adventure for us all.
And creator Randy Queen had some pretty big comments about his director:
I’m beyond thrilled that John Carpenter, one of our most important, and legendary genre directors, and the man responsible for such landmark films as The Thing, and Halloween has come onboard with Weta Workshop to help bring the nightmarish tale of Ariel Chylde to the silver screen. As a horror fan, the thought of Carpenter and Weta together, beautiful dreamscapes, and multiple transformations, makes me incredibly excited. There is a reason nearly his entire catalogue has, or is being remade, and it’s because Carpenter is a genius
To be honest, I’ve seen this comic book on the shelves but it didn’t seem like it appealed to me. And considering it has a large female audience, maybe I was right. But the thought of Carpenter, WETA and a hot chick transforming into multiple demonic personalities has all the ingredients for something special.
Are any of you fans of this comic? Do you feel Carpenter is the right man for the job?
