'Supernatural's Eric Kripke is also on board to write and produce.
Just as Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's Preacher series is set to debut on AMC, the creative duo has lined up yet another cable TV adaptation of a beloved hyper-violent comic. Rogen and Goldberg will team up with Supernaturalcreator Eric Kripke to devlop writer Garth Ennis and illustrator Darick Robertson's The Boys to series for Cinemax. Per Deadline, the adaptation will come from the Preacher team of Rogen and Goldberg’s Point Grey, Neil Moritz’s Original Film and Sony TV.
Set in a world where superheroes not only exist, but have become indulgent, reckless, and violent celebrity types who often do more harm than good, The Boys follows a team of ex-CIA Black ops enforcers known as "the boys" who keep the "supes" in line when their inflated egos and corrupted morals compromise the safety of the world. Like Preacher, The Boys is filled with flourishes of Ennis' trademark explicit violence and sexuality, an element that has no doubt been a significant factor in why the cult comic book has taken so long to get an adaptation, especially given the big budget required to do the story justice.
Image via Wildstorm, Dynamite Entertainment
The Big Shortdirector Adam McKay tried to get a film adaptation of the ground for years, first at Columbia then at Paramount after the first studio dropped the project. While McKay fell off the project, producer Neil Moritz remains on board for the series adaptation. We first heard about Rogan and Goldberg's plans for a series adaptation of The Boys last year, when it was speculated that they would seek out a pay cable network so they could go hog wild with the source material's nastier bits. In that regard, Cinemax is certainly a good fit. The HBO sister network has a few brilliantly bloody shows under their belt with Bansheeand The Knick, and The Boys joins Cinemax's other new dark comic adaptation, Robert Kirkman's exorcism thriller, Outcast.
Here's the official synopsis for The Boys:
This is going to hurt! In a world where costumed heroes soar through the sky and masked vigilantes prowl the night, someone’s got to make sure the “supes” don’t get out of line. And someone will! Billy Butcher, Wee Hughie, Mother’s Milk, The Frenchman, and The Female are The Boys: A CIA-backed team of very dangerous people, each one dedicated to the struggle against the most dangerous force on Earth – superpower! Some superheroes have to be watched. Some have to be controlled. And some of them – sometimes – need to be taken out of the picture. That’s when you call in The Boys! The Boys Vol. 1: The Name of the Game collects the first six issues of the hit series The Boys by Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Punisher) and drawn by Darick Robertson (Transmetropolitan, Wolverine)!
