Legendary Entertainment has nabbed the rights to the Nonplayer comic books and is now developing a film adaptation. The series, from writer and artist Nate Simpson, made quite an entrance back in 2011 when Nonplayer #1 was released. The single issue drew attention to the then still-budding comic book writer and even brought him several accolades, including an Eisner Award as a newcomer to the industry.
However, it took Simpson another four years to put out Nonplayer #2, due to some personal milestones that include the birth of his first son and tragedy, as he suffered a major injury that hampered his work on the series. Now, as fans are still waiting for the next installment of the seven-issue narrative that the writer hopes to wrap-up by 2017, a big development involving the property has emerged - as it turns out that the comics will soon grace the big screen.
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According to Deadline, Legendary Entertainment has acquired the film rights to the Image Comics series and has begun work on a Nonplayer movie adaptation. The script for the film is being written by Eric Pearson, who has previously worked on such comic book adaptations as Thor: Ragnarok and the Marvel/ABC TV series Agent Carter. It's worth nothing that this is not the first time that Nonplayer has been optioned to become a movie. Some years back, Warner Bros. also began work on a Nonplayer film adaptation, with producers David Heyman and Roy Lee attached . For better or worse, that iteration of the project never made it past pre-production.
For the uninitiated, Nonplayer follows the life of lead Dana Stevens: a tamale delivery woman who participates in an online roleplaying game, where she lives her fantasy lifestyle. After defeating a major character, the game's AI infects the whole system, causing it to spill into real life. Unable to log-out from the augmented reality title, Dana needs to continue playing the game and eventually finish, if she is to survive.
In a Hollywood era dominated by comic book movie adaptations, it will be interesting to see how a non-Marvel/DC title like Nonplayer fares by comparison. Something like Mark Millar's Kingsman comic book series, for example, has become a breakout hit on the big screen, thanks to director Matthew Vaughn's impeccable style and fresh take on the property. Only time will tell if this new Legendary project follows suit.
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An official release date has yet to be announced for Nonplayer.
Source: Deadline