While word has mostly gone quiet on the project, Julian Black Antelope promises that Netflix's Grendel TV show is going to please fans of the comic book. Created by Matt Wagner, the comic book series first launched in 1982 at Comico before moving over to Dark Horse Comics shortly thereafter. Grendel originally chronicled the story of Hunter Rose, a master-criminal who frequently combatted with Argent the wolf, only for the change in publication to lead to a complete retcon as a young boy named Eddie grows into taking on two identities, successful novelist Hunter Rose and costumed assassin Grendel.
Despite having been around for the better part of four decades, development on an adaptation of Grendel wasn't officially announced until this past September when Netflix acquired the rights to the comics for a TV show. Andrew Dabb, who recently partnered with the streaming platform for the Resident Evil series, is set as showrunner for the project with Abubakr Ali set as Grendel alongside Julian Black Antelope as iconic villain Argent, Jaime Ray Newman, Madeline Zima, Kevin Corrigan, Emma Ho, Erik Palladino, Brittany Allen and Andy Mientus. Grendel began filming last August and wrapped earlier this year and now one star is offering a promising update for the show.
While speaking exclusively with Screen Rant to discuss his role in Prey, Julian Black Antelope opened up about Netflix's upcoming Grendel TV show. Though keeping mum on a timeline for its arrival, Antelope teased that comic book fans will be very pleased with how the project adapts the source material. See what Antelope shared below:
"It blew me away, Matt Wagner's comic has been around since I think the early '80s, 1982-83, somewhere in there. It's come out with so many different versions of Grendel, different iterations of it over the years, and it's got this fan base that I wasn't even aware existed. I don't want to say too much about this right now, but I can say if you're a Grendel comic fan out there and you're familiar with the comic, you will not be disappointed in the series at all. And if you are not a Grendel fan and this is a first-time thing for you, I guarantee you that if you watch it, you will not be disappointed at all. It's got everything, I feel very blessed to be part of the project. That's what I can say. I don't want to talk too much about it, I don't know what I'm allowed to say and what I'm not. [Chuckles]"
Though Antelope may have kept mostly mum on details for the project, his assurance that the Grendel TV show will please comic book fans should come as a promising tease for those who love the source material. While Dabb garnered a strong fanbase as co-showrunner of the final four seasons of Supernatural, he did see a very divisive response to his Resident Evil series adaptation from fans of the video games, in spite of critics giving it the best rating of any live-action adaptation of the franchise. While his attachment to the Grendel show may leave some concerned after Resident Evil, those who did enjoy the horror series and are fans of the comic books should find some hope in Dabb being at the helm.
The Grendel TV show also marks the latest collaboration between Netflix and Dark Horse Entertainment after the two inked first look movie and TV partnership, which they recently extended for multiple years. Alongside the adaptation of Wagner's comics, the streamer has enjoyed three successful seasons of The Umbrella Academy while also gearing up for Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles season 2 releasing in September and developing film adaptations of Dept. H, Lady Killer and Bang!, the latter of which just took a big step forward with Idris Elba signing on to star and Deadpool 2's David Leitch set to direct. With production on Grendel having wrapped earlier this year, one can hope for further news on the TV show in the near future.