Megan Fox To Star In Michael Turner’s Fathom?

Megan Fox, starlet of Transformers and recent recipient of the title “Earth’s hottest girl” by Maxim Magazine, has reportedly signed on to play super-powered mermaid, Aspen, in the big screen adaptation of artist Michael Turner’s groundbreaking comic book series, Fathom.

Megan Fox sleek, sexy and wet? Just point me towards the theater.

There’s been morbid speculation that Michael Turner’s death in June of this year (after a long bout with bone cancer) had stalled any plans for a Fathom movie, which has reportedly been in development since 2003.

Looks like that speculation was unfounded, because word is that Megan Fox signed on the dotted line to star in the film this past week, which is coming our way courtesy of 20th Century Fox’s “genre” branch, Fox Atomic. (You mean the guys who made the Hill Have Eyes 2, Turistas and 28 Weeks Later? Yay.)

A movie adaptation of Fathom has been long coming; however, even as recently as last year, Turner himself was doubtful that the film would happen:

“The ‘Fathom’ movie is now not really happening,” Turner announced. “We had some problems with some scripting … It was definitely an experience that we had with Hollywood. All the scripts were completely different from what you know of ‘Fathom.’ We’re going back and starting again…” Turner said.

And so, as is the case with all quality films, Fox has reportedly decided to move ahead with Fathom, despite no  confirmed script or director being attached to the project. According to a source over at IESB, the whole movie is basically being built around Megan Fox’s gorgeous face and… considerable talent. (Double Yay.) But hey, I guess you gotta start somewhere (and Megan Fox is a pretty good starting point for just about anything.)

The Fathom comic book series first debuted in 1998, under Image Comics’ splinter branch, Top Cow Comics. The series (about an amnesic and super-powered mermaid discovered at sea by a cruise liner,) ran until 2002, when Turner’s efforts as creator, owner, writer, and artist of Fathom were derailed by the sudden discovery of his cancer.

Other artists and writers continued to expand the Fathom universe until Turner’s cancer went into remission and he broke off from Top Cow to form his own company, a move which led to a legal battle with Top Cow.

Turner debuted a second installment of Fathom in 2004, under the banner of  his own company, Aspen MLT Inc. The second run lasted for a miniseries (Fathom: Dawn of War), and also created a spin-off series (Fathom: Cannon Hawke). A third, posthumous installment of Fathom has been planned for Winter of 2008.

(Thank IESB for providing this bit of fan art by artist Jamie Tyndall, depicting what Megan Fox might look like if she were cartoonishly proportioned and dressed as Aspen.)

Artwork by Jamie Tyndall

Will Megan Fox do Fathom justice and honor its late creator; or will her “talent” be limited to giving us boys a whole lot of what we want to see? (Are the two even mutually exclusive?) Let us know what you think.

Source: IESB, Comic Book Resources, Maxim