As the Sci Fi Channel’s Battlestar Galactica enters its home stretch, co-executive producer and writer Mark Verheiden is returning to his comic book roots.
Verheiden started off in the comics, writing issues of Dark Horse titles The American and Alien vs. Predator — and he’s now hard at work on a big-screen adaptation of DC’s Teen Titans. The project, announced last year, was temporarily derailed by the writers’ strike — but, as Verheiden tells Comic Mix, he’s “back full into writing” the script. Asked about his plans, he gives the following rough outline:
Well, I’m still writing it, so I’m not 100 percent sure at the moment. One thing I can tell you is that there will be a Nightwing story and Robin is in it, too. Take from that what you will.
We’ll also be dealing with a transitional period in the lives of the Teen Titans. It will be a huge, fun, action movie but it’s the characters first. What makes them interesting and exciting? That’s how I approach any story.
It also won’t be the Titans as young adults or anything. I’m also looking to the work of Marv Wolfman and George Perez as the touchstone of inspiration for the film.
I’m a friend of Marv and I’ve talked about the movie with him so his influence will definitely be felt.
Asked to what extent he’s aware of fans’ wishes for the film, Verheiden says the magic words — “why fix what isn’t broken?” — before telling Comic Mix that he plans to make the characters “as real as possible.” This credo seems to apply to the team’s conflicts, too; when asked to describe the “villains of the story,” Verheiden gave what might be a surprising response:
We’re going to have some strong adversaries, or antagonists, but really, I’m trying to concentrate on the core group of these characters, who we meet at a point when they’re at the cusp of adulthood.
Actually, when I first started thinking about it, I wondered what it would be like, for example, to be Tom Cruise’s son if you wanted to get into acting. You have a lot of baggage to overcome.
It’s the same with this story. It’s no secret Robin is in this movie, so what if you were him, after living in the shadow of Bruce Wayne and Batman, and now you wanted to go off on your own and become your own man, your own superhero? That’s got to be a huge thing to overcome. That makes it interesting for me.
To read the rest of Mark Verheiden’s thoughts on Teen Titans, the end of Battlestar Galactica, and more, follow the link below!
Source: Comic Mix
