Twentieth Century Fox is eying Sylvester Stallone to star in an adaptation of Mark Millar's Starlight, playing an aging intergalactic superhero. Stallone's first brush with the world of comic book movie adaptations was not a happy one. In 1995 Stallone starred as the title character in a film version of the comic Judge Dredd, and the over-the-top movie did not go over well with either fans of the original book or the public in general. Unfortunately, the film was made at a time when Hollywood by-and-large had not yet learned how to successfully adapt comic book properties to the screen, and Stallone's performance as a result was fated to become considered one of the worst-ever in a comic book movie.

Many years have now passed since Judge Dredd fell on its face and Stallone is making something of a triumphant return to the world of comic book adaptations with his role as Stakar Ogord aka Starhawk in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. According to Guardians director James Gunn, Stallone's character could have a big future as part of the MCU. And there could be even more comic book material in the future for the action movie legend.

Twentieth Century Fox wants to bring the Mark Millar comic Starlight to the screen and according to Splash Report, Stallone is their first choice to play the film's main character, the aging intergalactic hero Duke McQueen. The movie would center on Stallone's McQueen, now retired after a long career of battling space villains, being called to action one last time after a message from a distant world. The Starlight screenplay was written by Gary Whitta who also worked on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Sherlock Holmes 3.

Millar is a comic book legend who has already seen several of his books come to the screen as the films Wanted, Kick-Ass and Kingsman: The Secret Service. All the above films were successful at the box office, and all ended up being given sequels, with Kingsman: The Golden Circle set to come out later in 2017.

Described as a Buck Rogers homage, Starlight seems very similar to Guardians of the Galaxy at least in terms of subject matter. With Stallone already looking at a possible ongoing role in the MCU as Stakar Ogord, it's fair to wonder if he would want to take on a similar role in an altogether different comic book property. At the end of the day, it's arguably wiser to throw in with the Marvel crew than embark on the relatively perilous enterprise of kickstarting a new film property, even one that already has something of a built-in audience.

The character of Duke McQueen does sound perfect for Stallone, who even at the ripe-old-age of 70 still has the physicality necessary to play action heroes, and certainly has the right growling, intense persona to embody an old-man Buck Rogers being called out of retirement to kick butt across the galaxy. We'll keep you updated on all developments involving Mark Millar's Starlight and Stallone's possible involvement in the film.

Next: Sylvester Stallone: The MCU Is This Generation’s Hero Mythology

Source: Splash Report