Not for the first time, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, the long-running DC/Vertigo comic Fables has been slated for the big screen. Nikolaj Arcel, who directed Danish film A Royal Affair, is said to be attached to direct the adaptation, which will be written by Jeremy Slater. David Heyman and Jeffrey Clifford of Heyday Films, a team of people who are behind a little franchise called Harry Potter.
Fables, currently up to 130 issues or so and several spin-offs and tie-ins, was first created by Bill Willingham in 2002 for DC/Vertigo. It follows the lives of various creates of fables and legend who have escaped from a malevolent force into our world, and now live in secret in New York City. The Big Bad Wolf turn up as a cop, and Snow White is a high-ranking member of the community. It has been running continuously since then, with recent off-shoots including Fairest.
This new attempt at a film seems inevitable in the wake of the success of TV series such as the similarly themed Once Upon A Time, a Fables movie was always on the cards again. It first came up back in 2004, when Warner attempted to develop a film with the Jim Henson Company, but that didn’t make it to the script stage. In 2008, ABC tried to develop a series, but it didn’t make it to pilot stage. The script is said to have very little in common with the original comic.
It will be interesting to see what happens if this makes it to the big screen. Fables is released as part of the mature readers line of comics, and the creative team suggests a lighter touch. Fingers crossed that this will be the first of a series of successful ventures.
