"MirrorMask" co-creator Dave McKean will adapt SF Said’s comic graphic novel "Varjak Paw" for the fine folks over at Jim Henson Co. Apparently it’s a colorful adventure story full of felines, kung fu, and mystical secrets.
Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter: "Illustrator-turned-director Dave McKean will direct "Varjak Paw," an adaptation of SF Said’s fantasy kung fu cat series for the Jim Henson Co. McKean also will co-write the screenplay with Said.
"Paw" follows a Mesopotamian blue kitten who embarks on a journey to save his family and in the process discovers he is part of a mystical tradition of magical martial arts.
The first book originally was published in 2003 by David Fickling Books at Random House and won the Nestle Book Prize Gold Medal. Henson also has picked up the rights to the second book, "The Outlaw Varjak Paw," with an eye toward making two films. McKean will exec produce the film with Said. Jason Lust is overseeing development for Henson.
"With ‘Varjak Paw,’ SF Said and Dave McKean have a proven partnership of great storytelling using words and images, so we are thrilled to join them in bringing this to the screen," Henson co-CEO Lisa Henson said. McKean, a frequent collaborator of writer Neil Gaiman, directed the fantasy "Mirrormask" for Henson."
