Executive producer Seth Rogen opens up about why The Boys movie adaptation never happened and how he and Evan Goldberg would get their hands on it. Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's graphic novels center on a team of vigilantes who form together to bring justice to the superheroes that exist in the world and abuse their powers for greedy means. Originally published by DC Comics imprint WildStorm before moving to Dynamite Entertainment, The Boys ran from 2006-2012 and encompassed 72 issues and an eight-issue epilogue entitled Dear Becky.
Development on an adaptation of The Boys began as early as 2008 when Columbia Pictures picked up the rights to the graphic novels with Neal H. Moritz producing and Clash of the Titans duo Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi penning the script. Adam McKay would attach himself to direct a couple of years later with Paramount subsequently picking up the rights from Columbia, though after a few years of work, this incarnation would eventually die in development hell. The Boys would later get another chance at life on the small screen as Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg teamed with Supernatural creator Eric Kripke to develop a TV series at Cinemax, which would later make its way to its current home of Amazon.
While appearing on the latest episode of First We Feast's Hot Ones series, Seth Rogen offered some insight into the long development process of The Boys. Rogen explained why the movie adaptation never came to be, recalling how he and Evan Goldberg brought the comic book to Sony, only for the studio to give it to other filmmakers who spent a decade "f---ing up" and that they would eventually be given the opportunity to do what they want with the material. See what Rogen said below:
"Something like The Boys was obvious to us. It's a funny journey with the comic, me and Evan, we're big fans of Garth Ennis, he wrote the comic and he wrote Preacher as well, we bought the first issue when it came out and we were like, 'Oh my god, this would make a great movie. Regular people fighting superheroes.' We brought it to Sony and Neal Moritz, the producer, and they were like, 'Yeah, this would make an incredible movie, we'll buy the rights to it.' Then they did and they did not hire us to write it or produce it in any way shape or form. [Laughs] They hired other people to do that and after like a decade of those people f—ing it up in some shape or form, it came back to us and we turned it into the TV show. I think people love superhero stuff and Marvel is obviously very popular and makes great films and TV shows, but there are certain things they can't do, it would be too damaging to their brand to have a character kill someone with their 10-inch d—k."
The Boys movie adaptation went through a troubled development cycle as it shifted creative and studio hands for nearly a decade and Rogen's reveal that he and Goldberg were the first to pitch an adaptation to Sony is an interesting wrinkle in the story. It's also an appropriately ironic one given Sony would ultimately bring the duo back to bring Garth Ennis' graphic novels to life for the screen, which also makes sense given Rogen and Goldberg's work in adapting Ennis' Preacher for four acclaimed seasons at AMC. Though some audiences may have wanted to see The Boys come to life much sooner in its life cycle, the worth has definitely been the wait for all involved.
Since its premiere on Amazon in 2019, The Boys has become a smash hit with critics and audiences alike for its subversive take on the superhero genre, dark humor and the performances of its cast. The series has also drawn in strong viewership for the streaming platform, leading to the ordering of two spin-off shows. Audiences won't have to wait long for the show to return as The Boys season 3 is set to premiere on Amazon on June 3.
Source: First We Feast