New York City has a long and storied history of mafia and mob families. Several movies, documentaries, true crime novels, and yes, even comics have dedicated space telling the stories of organized crime in America. More often than not, each of these families is led by a powerful man with all the right connections who rules with an iron fist. But what happens with the patriarchy falls and women now stand firmly in charge?
The Kitchen centers around three wives of Irish mobsters who take over the racketeering after their husbands are sent to prison. This reimagining of the gangster trope breathes new life into a genre that has, historically, stuck to retelling existing stories. The Kitchen follows Angie, Raven, and Kath as they jump right into the deep end of keeping their neighborhood, Hell's Kitchen, in line. From DC's Vertigo label, the comic is penned by newcomer Ollie Masters and drawn by Ming Doyle (Constantine: The Hellblazer, DC Bombshells). Move over Mob Wives because the ladies of Hell's Kitchen in 1970s New York City are about to show us how to run the family business.
Tracking Board reports that New Line Cinema is adapting the 2015 Kitchen limited comic series for the big screen. Andrea Berloff, who was nominated for an Academy Award for co-writing the N.W.A. movie biopic Straight Outta Compton, is tapped to write the script for The Kitchen comic book film adaptation. New Line, which has the rights to DC's Vertigo line (after the studio merged with parent company Warner Bros. in 2008), has Michael Disco and Sam Brown set as executive producers for the project. There has been no mention of casting yet, but with the recent onslaught of reboots, remakes, and adaptations, Hollywood is ripe for a female driven take on the mob.
Vertigo describes The Kitchen comic book series as follows:
"New York City, late 1970s. Times Square is a haven for sex and drugs. The city teeters on the verge of bankruptcy, while blackouts can strike at any moment. This is the world of THE KITCHEN. The Irish gangs of Hell’s Kitchen rule the neighborhood, bringing terror to the streets and doing the dirty work for the Italian Mafia. Jimmy Brennan and his crew were the hardest bastards in the Kitchen, but after they’re all put in prison, their wives – Kath, Raven and Angie – decide to keep running their rackets. And once they get a taste of the fast life and easy money, it won’t be easy to stop."
Following after the critical acclaim and box office success of Straight Outta Compton, Berloff has Sleepless (a thriller with Jamie Foxx and Michelle Monaghan starring) and Blood Father (an action thriller with Mel Gibson starring) set to hit the big screen next; she has also been working on the script for the in-development The Legend of Conan, which (should it be green-lit) would see Arnold Schwarzenegger play an older Conan the Barbarian. As for comic writer Ollie Masters, his next big project is a prequel series to Sons of Anarchy titled Redwood Original to be released by Boom! Studios, where he currently writes Snow Blind.
NEXT: Vertigo Comic Book Films Now at New Line
The Kitchen has no official release date from New Line yet. Stay with Screen Rant for the latest updates on this project.
Source: Tracking Board