Comic book fans may have to wait a while longer for a Justice League movie, or for Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of the Justice League Dark series, but the horizon of superhero team-ups now includes the Justice League of Classic Literature: Alan Moore's Victorian-set supernatural comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is once again in development - this time for the small screen.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was adapted into a movie in 2003, with Sean Connery as Allan Quatermain and Peta Wilson as Mina Harker. It had some interesting visual realizations of the characters, and some decent performances, but the script was pretty dull and it's definitely not one of the better comic book movies around. Ultimately it didn't see enough success - either critically or financially - for 20th Century Fox to justify a sequel, but it seems that the studio has finally decided to put the property to use once more.

Variety reports that Fox is developing a television show based on the comics, has committed to a pilot and has hired Michael Green (Green Lantern, Everwood) as writer and showrunner. Green will also act as executive producer, alongside Erwin Stoff (Constantine, A Scanner Darkly).

The comics feature a crime-fighting team composed of characters from early adventure, science-fiction and horror novels, including Allan Quatermain, the hunter and adventurer from H. Rider Haggard's stories, Mina Harker from "Dracula", Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Invisible Man, Dorian Gray (from Oscar Wilde's novel of the same name) and Captain Nemo, from Jules Verne's novels "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" and "The Mysterious Island".

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 2003 cast

Moore's series may actually lend itself more naturally to episodic storytelling, perhaps covering each volume of the comics with a season of the show, but Green's name isn't one that inspires instant confidence in the project. Before holding Green Lantern against him, it's important to note that he was only one of four writers who worked on the screenplay for that film, but he's also yet to score any outright hits with his TV work. At least he has significant experience in comic adaptation and superhero fare, having worked on shows like Smallville and Heroes.

With no actors yet announced for the show, now is the perfect time to let us know who your dream cast for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen would be.

_____

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is still in its early stages and does not yet have an air date. We'll keep you updates on any further details.

Source: Variety